Currently, right-wing supporters of President Donald Trump are storming the U.S. capitol building in an effort to stop Congress tallying Electoral College votes that will deliver the presidency to Joe Biden. The ever-gracious Trump has decided to use this opportunity to attack Vice President Mike Pence for not doing that job for them.
“Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify,” said Trump on Twitter. “USA demands the truth!”
Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021
That tweet came roughly 10 minutes after it was reported that Pence had been escorted off the Senate floor—where he was presiding of the electoral college tally—in response to aforementioned protesters breaking through police lines and entering the Capitol.
That tweet also comes a day after Pence told Trump, per reporting from The New York Times, that he did not have the power to unilaterally reject electoral votes for Joe Biden, even though the vice president did promise to keep studying the issue of voter fraud.
JUST NOW: The United States Capitol is on lockdown. Vice President Mike Pence was just ushered off the floor of the Senate.
— Michael Del Moro (@MikeDelMoro) January 6, 2021
Pence’s mealy-mouthed resistance to Trump’s demands was always going to provoke condemnation from the president, as Reason‘s Jacob Sullum presciently noted yesterday.
“In the end, Pence will be forced to declare Biden the next president of the United States, at which point Trump, being Trump, might very well turn against him, as he has when other loyal allies dared to defy his whims,” wrote Sullum.
Few could have predicted Trump’s turn on Pence would come right as the vice president was fleeing from rioters who were more willing to do Trump’s dirty work for him.
In a bit of surreal irony, one such rioter who’d made it into the Senate chamber took up Pence’s seat and declared Trump to be the actual winner of the presidential election.
They’re in the chamber. One is up on the dais yelling “Trump won that election!” This is insane pic.twitter.com/p6CXhBDSFT
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) January 6, 2021
Pence supported Trump right until the very end. It appears that wasn’t long enough.
Founded in 1968, Reason is the magazine of free minds and free markets. We produce hard-hitting independent journalism on civil liberties, politics, technology, culture, policy, and commerce. Reason exists outside of the left/right echo chamber. Our goal is to deliver fresh, unbiased information and insights to our readers, viewers, and listeners every day. Visit https://reason.com