On Thursday, The Washington Post reported that former President Donald Trump almost certainly knew that former Vice President Mike Pence was in danger from the Capitol mob — even as he continued to tweet his anger at his right-hand man.
"Trump's decision to tweet that Pence lacked "courage" — a missive sent shortly after the vice president had been rushed off the Senate floor — underscores how he delayed taking action to stop his supporters as they ransacked the Capitol," reported Rosalind Helderman and Josh Dawsey. "Many of them were intent on doing harm to Pence, whom Trump had singled out at a rally earlier in the day, falsely claiming the vice president had the power to stop Congress from formalizing Joe Biden's electoral college victory."
"Trump's tweet came at 2:24 p.m. that day — only 11 minutes after live television coverage showed Pence being hustled from the Senate floor because rioters were streaming into the building one floor below. The Senate then abruptly went into recess," said the report. "Trump was watching news coverage of the session after he returned from his rally at the Ellipse, according to a person familiar with the events of the day who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe what was happening behind the scenes. The White House typically would have been immediately informed by Pence's Secret Service detail when he was evacuated from a location, according to another person with knowledge of the security protocols."
Some of the Capitol rioters can be seen yelling "Hang Mike Pence" as they roamed the halls, and some even erected a makeshift gallows outside. Reporting suggests the invaders actually came close to the Pence aide carrying the backup nuclear launch equipment — and the military didn't even become aware of this until this week.
Pence's relationship with Trump has reportedly collapsed in the wake of the incident.
The former president is in the middle of an impeachment trial for incitement of insurrection, for his role in encouraging the riot to take place.
