A former Situation Room official said former Vice President Pence came “close” to being killed on January 6, 2021, during the riot at the US Capitol.
“It’s important to me that we don’t forget that it came so close and that we had discussions: ‘If we lose the [vice president,] if the 25th [Amendment] is invoked’”, Mike Stiegler he said in an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that aired Tuesday on “Good Morning America,” in a clip highlighted by Mediate. “We started going through all these game plans because it was getting close.”
Stiegler also agreed with Stephanopoulos when he referred to the Jan. 6 riot as one “of our own people” and “inspired” by Trump.
“But at the time, it’s not even on our minds,” Steigler continued. “It doesn’t matter how we got here. We are here. How do we execute? How do we move forward?”
Pence faced threats of violence on Jan. 6 related to his failure to help overturn the 2020 election. He was at the Capitol when rioters broke in and was taken to an underground loading dock during the attack, according to the Secret Service.
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), considered a possible running mate for former President Trump in 2024, has stated his doubt that Pence’s life was in danger that day, saying earlier this month that he thinks “the politics and political people really like to exaggerate things from time to time.
“I think – look, January 6th was a bad day. It was a riot. But the idea that Donald Trump endangered anyone’s life when he told them to protest peacefully is simply absurd,” Vance later added.
Pence said in March that he will not support his former boss, saying he was “incredibly proud” of the Trump administration’s performance but “there were profound differences between me and President Trump on a number of issues.” He expressed his opposition to Trump’s stance on abortion and opposition to the TikTok ban, among other topics.
“In each of these cases, Donald Trump is pursuing and articulating an agenda that is at odds with the conservative agenda that we have governed for our four years,” Pence said. “And that’s why I cannot, in good conscience, support Donald Trump in this campaign.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
