Trump Threatened To Withhold Friendship From Pence Over Election Certification: Book
Trump Threatened To Withhold Friendship From Pence Over Election Certification: Book
Trump Threatened To Withhold Friendship From Pence Over Election Certification: Book
A new book shines fresh light on the final days of the Trump administration, when a top general feared the president had gone into “serious mental decline.”
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By Sara Boboltz
Donald Trump reportedly pressured Mike Pence to disrupt the official election certification process in his waning days in office by telling the vice president: “I don’t want to be your friend anymore if you don’t do this.”
The allegation comes from an upcoming book by Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, “Peril,” which is based on more than 200 interviews with people who worked in and around the former administration. CNN and The Washington Post received advance copies.
Although Pence ultimately did not move to stop the proceedings, “Peril” claims that he tried finding rationale for acquiescing to Trump’s demands ― and found none. The vice president oversees the congressional certification process, but the role is largely ceremonial.
Still, Trump allegedly tried to convince Pence to overturn the results by asking, “Wouldn’t it be almost cool to have that power?”
Per the book, Pence replied, “No. I’ve done everything I could and then some to find a way around this. It’s simply not possible.”
Trump then became agitated, screaming, “No!”
“You don’t understand, Mike. You can do this. I don’t want to be your friend anymore if you don’t do this,” he said, according to the book.
READ MORE: Trump Threatened To Withhold Friendship From Pence Over Election Certification: Book https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-pence...
A new book shines fresh light on the final days of the Trump administration, when a top general feared the president had gone into “serious mental decline.”
headshot
By Sara Boboltz
Donald Trump reportedly pressured Mike Pence to disrupt the official election certification process in his waning days in office by telling the vice president: “I don’t want to be your friend anymore if you don’t do this.”
The allegation comes from an upcoming book by Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, “Peril,” which is based on more than 200 interviews with people who worked in and around the former administration. CNN and The Washington Post received advance copies.
Although Pence ultimately did not move to stop the proceedings, “Peril” claims that he tried finding rationale for acquiescing to Trump’s demands ― and found none. The vice president oversees the congressional certification process, but the role is largely ceremonial.
Still, Trump allegedly tried to convince Pence to overturn the results by asking, “Wouldn’t it be almost cool to have that power?”
Per the book, Pence replied, “No. I’ve done everything I could and then some to find a way around this. It’s simply not possible.”
Trump then became agitated, screaming, “No!”
“You don’t understand, Mike. You can do this. I don’t want to be your friend anymore if you don’t do this,” he said, according to the book.
READ MORE: Trump Threatened To Withhold Friendship From Pence Over Election Certification: Book https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-pence...
Among the most harrowing revelations in “Peril” are the efforts made by the nation’s top military general to ensure that Trump would not take reckless military action in the days following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.