The nature of Trump’s pressure on Pence was particularly cynical. Rather than ask Pence to unilaterally overturn the election for Trump’s sake, the president presented the choice to Pence in terms of Pence’s own power and glory. Washington Post reporter Robert Costa, a careful and trustworthy reporter, relayed the story in some Dec. 11 tweets.
Referring to the throngs Trump was assembling for the Jan. 6 “rally,” Trump reportedly said to Pence, “If these people say you had the power, wouldn’t you want to?”
Pence, mindful of propriety and decency, answered, “I wouldn’t want any one person to have that authority.”
Trump, appealing to atavistic, adolescent motives, persisted, “But wouldn’t it be almost cool to have that power?”
To which Pence answered definitively, “No.”
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