Former President Donald Trump’s pressure on Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the 2020 election results was revealed in a recent court filing. Trump warned Pence that people would hate him if he failed to stop the certification. This pressure culminated in the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol. Despite the election results, Trump and his new running mate JD Vance refuse to accept defeat.
The filing also details Pence’s attempts to convince Trump to accept the election results. Pence encouraged Trump to consider all he had accomplished and urged him to accept the lawful results of the election. However, Trump remained fixated on overturning the results and even entertained the idea of challenging the election in the House of Representatives. Trump and his team, including Rudy Giuliani, developed a new plan that involved creating alternate slates of electors to claim victory.
Throughout this period, Trump repeatedly pressured Pence to take action to overturn the election results. Trump falsely claimed that Pence had the authority to reject electoral votes during the certification proceeding. Despite Pence’s repeated refusals to comply with Trump’s demands, the former president continued to pressure him, even threatening to publicly criticize him if he didn’t comply. Pence’s Secret Service detail was alerted due to concerns about his safety.
The tensions between Trump and Pence came to a head on January 6, the day of the Capitol riot. Trump, in a final attempt to pressure Pence, called him and insisted that he had the power to decertify the electoral votes. When Pence once again refused, Trump became incensed and publicly criticized him during a rally. Trump’s supporters, enraged by his comments, ultimately stormed the Capitol, leading to a violent and deadly insurrection.
Despite the tumultuous events of January 6, Pence stood firm in his refusal to comply with Trump’s demands to overturn the election results. The court filing underscores the extraordinary lengths to which Trump went to stay in power, even at the expense of democracy and the rule of law. As Trump and his allies continue to contest the 2020 election results, the aftermath of the Capitol riot serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of undermining the democratic process.
