The world has seen a deep rift develop between Pence and Trump since the election. The filing contains new details about how their relationship deteriorated.
Mr. Smith argues that the conversation between President Trump and the Vice President was not considered official because the two interacted as election running mates.
According to the filing, Vice President Pence tried “gradually and gently” to persuade President Trump to accept the election results.
As President Trump continued to spread false claims of fraud and raise legal challenges, Pence reportedly proposed a “face-saving option” on November 12: “Don’t give in and recognize that the process is over.”
A few days later, he encouraged Trump to accept defeat and run again in four years, to which Trump is believed to have responded, “I don’t know. 2024 is too far away.”
Ultimately, on January 1, 2021, Trump reportedly told Pence that “hundreds of thousands” of people would “think you’re stupid” for wanting to acknowledge his loss.
Less than a week later, Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building during the Jan. 6 riot, calling for Pence to be hanged as he planned to certify Biden’s election victory. Pence fled to the safety of the parking lot.
The document states that when President Trump heard that Vice President Pence was in danger, he asked, “So what?”
