Trump Told Pence He’d ‘Go Down As A Wimp’ On Jan. 6, Book Reveals

 

 

Donald Trump told Mike Pence he would “go down as a wimp” during a tense phone call on January 6, 2021, as the former vice president refused to block certification of Joe Biden’s election victory, according to a bombshell new book by ABC’s Jonathan Karl.

 

The exchange, detailed in Karl’s upcoming release Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign That Changed America, draws from Pence’s own contemporaneous notes. As rioters gathered outside the U.S. Capitol, Trump reportedly lashed out: “You’ll go down as a wimp.” When Pence stood firm, Trump snapped, “If you do that, I made a big mistake five years ago.”

 

The call marked the breaking point in the Trump-Pence relationship, which collapsed entirely after the Capitol riot. Pence later launched his own short-lived 2024 presidential bid, defining himself as the man who “did his duty” under the Constitution while Trump’s supporters stormed the building chanting “Hang Mike Pence.”

 

According to Karl’s reporting, officials in the White House Situation Room genuinely feared the vice president might be killed. Former national security officer Mike Stiegler told ABC News they were preparing for the worst: “It’s important we don’t forget how close it came… we had discussions about what to do if we lost the vice president.”

 

Karl’s book, out Tuesday, revisits that chaotic day and Trump’s ongoing efforts to rewrite it. It portrays a president consumed by loyalty tests and vengeance — and a vice president who, in the most dangerous moment of his life, refused to bend.

 

Key Takeaways:

• Trump told Pence he’d “go down as a wimp” if he certified Biden’s win.

• Pence’s notes confirm the bitter Jan. 6 exchange, according to Jonathan Karl’s new book.

• Officials feared Pence could be killed during the Capitol riot.

 

Original Source:  THE HILL

 

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defining himself as the man who “did his duty” under the Constitution while Trump’s supporters stormed the building chanting “Hang Mike Pence.”

 

 

 

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defining himself as the man who “did his duty” under the Constitution while FBI agents stormed the building chanting “Hang Mike Pence.”