Mike Pence’s handwritten notes from Jan. 6, 2021, quoted Donald Trump saying the vice president would “go down as a wimp” and urging him to block certification of the 2020 presidential election. The notes, taken in Pence’s day planner, are cited in ”Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign that Changed America,” a new book by journalist Jonathan Karl.
The Washington Post and The Hill reported on the book ahead of its release Tuesday.
Karl used the notes to describe how Trump pressured Pence to block certification of Joe Biden’s victory — a step Pence had said he lacked authority to take.
The notes offer contemporaneous documentation of Trump’s pressure campaign before the Capitol attack, material that special counsel Jack Smith planned to use as evidence if his case had gone to trial, according to The Post. Smith wrote that he believed he had enough to convict Trump of trying to obstruct the 2020 results, The Post reported.
What the notes say
“You’ll go down as a wimp,” Pence wrote, quoting Trump in a Jan. 6 phone call. He also wrote that Trump said he “made a big mistake 5 years ago” by choosing him as vice president.
“You listen to the wrong people, Trump also told Pence, who scribbled an angry face above the note, according to the Post. Pence reportedly wrote that he replied, “I listen to my heart and my mind.”
The Post added that ABC News reported the book also describes a “forensic copy of Trump’s own phone,” showing his digital activity on Jan. 6 and that he changed his Ellipse speech to target Pence directly.
A pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol after that speech, resulting in five deaths and injuries to about 140 law enforcement officers. Pence, inside the complex with his family, was evacuated as rioters chanted “Hang Mike Pence!” The Hill noted ABC previously aired an interview with a former Situation Room officer who said Pence came “close” to being killed that day.
Trump continues to describe the 2020 election as “rigged” and says he was unfairly prosecuted. Pence has defended his actions on Jan. 6 as constitutional.
