“They’re upset with the president for turning on many of them,” said a former Trump campaign official, and in particular, for pointing the finger at Pence after the vice president refused to discard electoral votes certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s win, as Trump urged him to do repeatedly.

“These are reasonable, rational conservatives who believe in the cause, saying, ‘Why in the world would you turn on your vice president who’s been extraordinarily loyal, but also reasonable, rational, is giving you good advice, and has stuck with you this whole entire time?'” this official continued. “The good, the bad, the indifferent, the ugly, he has been there for you.”…

Asked if Pence’s team considered Trump’s demands as it prepared the letter, he said, “Not for 10 seconds.”

“It was just a [question of] how much damage are we talking about? The guy who asked me knew the answer, he just wanted me to tell him,” this source said.