In his forthcoming memoir, former Vice President Mike Pence writes that Donald Trump called him “too honest” because he opposed a lawsuit that aimed to give Pence the power to decide which electoral votes would count in the 2020 presidential election.
Pence makes the claim in So Help Me God, which is set for publication next Tuesday by Simon & Schuster. The Wall Street Journal published an excerpt from the book on Wednesday.
Pence writes that Trump called him on Jan. 1, 2021, to discuss a lawsuit filed by a group of Republicans seeking a declaration that the vice president had “exclusive authority and sole discretion” to decide which electoral votes would be considered valid. Pence told Trump he opposed the lawsuit.
“You’re too honest,” Trump told Pence. “Hundreds of thousands are gonna hate your guts.…People are gonna think you’re stupid.”
On Jan. 6, Pence writes, he again told Trump that he didn’t believe he had the authority to reject any electoral votes, and informed the president that he would issue a statement confirming that.
“You’ll go down as a wimp,” Trump responded. “If you do that, I made a big mistake five years ago!”
Pence writes that Trump later asked him if he was scared on Jan. 6, when pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol while Pence was inside with two members of his family.
“No,” Pence says he replied. “I was angry. You and I had our differences that day, Mr. President, and seeing those people tearing up the Capitol infuriated me.”
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
