Donald Trump Slams Mike Pence For Lacking ‘Courage’ To Overturn Election Results As Protesters Storm Capitol
In a tweet posted on Wednesday, President Donald Trump ripped into Vice President Mike Pence for refusing to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Trump argued that Pence should have objected to the certification of Electoral College votes and taken into consideration the fact that new evidence regarding alleged voter fraud has emerged.
“Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify.”
Democrat Joe Biden convincingly won both the popular vote and the Electoral College in November last year, but Trump has refused to accept the outcome of the race, promoting evidence-free theories about widespread voter fraud.
After losing dozens of lawsuits in courts across the nation, Trump put pressure on Republican lawmakers and Pence, urging them to object to the results and prevent Biden from being inaugurated.
Most Republicans have pushed back on the commander-in-chief. Crucially, Pence — who is presiding over the ongoing joint session of the U.S. Congress — said earlier today that he cannot overturn the results.
Per NPR, in a letter to Congress, Pence argued that the U.S. Constitution forbids him from intervening the process.
“It is my considered judgment that my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not,” he stated.
Last week, Pence’s office said that he “welcomes” the GOP effort to expose irregularities and overturn the election, after a dozen Senate Republicans and a number of their colleagues in the lower chamber vowed to object to the certification.
The statement said that Pence “welcomes the efforts of members of the House and Senate to use the authority they have under the law to raise objections.”
Trump fired off the tweet as hundreds of his supporters stormed the Capitol.
As The New York Times reported, pro-Trump protesters managed to defeat security forces and break into the building. Thousands reportedly cheered and clashed with the police in front of the Capitol as a large group of demonstrators breached the building, forcing the closure of the Senate chamber.
Rotunda door now breached, Capitol Police say. Loud smashing noises as more Trump protesters surge into building pic.twitter.com/vjCGuPFUUF
— Steven Nelson (@stevennelson10) January 6, 2021
Per Forbes, the Capitol went into lockdown and Pence was escorted to a secure location. Sen. Chuck Grassley, the president pro-tempore, was escorted from the chamber as well. He, too, was moved to a secure location, according to the magazine.
