\u201cvery big announcement.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\u201c\u2018You can be a historic figure, but if you wimp out, you\u2019re just another somebody,\u2019\u201d Pence said Trump told him after the 2020 election. Pence also wrote that Trump warned him \u2014 on Jan. 6, 2021 \u2014 he would \u201cgo down as a wimp\u201d if he certified the election results.<\/p>\n
Pence, in his commentary, reaffirmed that he welcomed debate and challenges to the 2020 presidential results, but did not believe he should reject electors unilaterally.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018You\u2019re too honest,\u2019\u201d Pence said Trump told him in early January 2021. \u201c\u2018Hundreds of thousands are gonna hate your guts. \u2026 People are gonna think you\u2019re stupid.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Pence said John Eastman, a lawyer for Trump, \u201cstammered\u201d when he suggested that it was \u201can open question\u201d whether Pence had the authority to reject votes. Pence later found out that Eastman, too, thought rejecting electoral votes was \u201ca bad idea,\u201d the former vice president wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis guy didn\u2019t even believe what he was telling the president,\u201d Pence wrote of Eastman.<\/p>\n
Pence also shared further details of his experience inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, during the insurrection.<\/p>\n
When he first saw \u201cprotesters standing peacefully,\u201d Pence said, he \u201cfelt compassion for all the good people who had traveled to Washington having been told that the outcome of the election could be changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI turned to my daughter and sighed: \u2018God bless those people. They\u2019re gonna be so disappointed,\u2019\u201d Pence recounted of the early parts of Jan. 6.<\/p>\n
When it became clear rioters had breached the Capitol, Pence said, he refused to drive away, and insisted on walking, rather than running, to a safer space.<\/p>\n
And when the then-president tweeted during the insurrection that Pence lacked \u201ccourage,\u201d the former vice president \u201cignored the tweet and got back to work,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
Pence described a conversation with Trump less than a week later, in which Trump said he \u201cjust learned\u201d Pence\u2019s family was present in the Capitol on Jan. 6.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Were you scared?\u2019\u201d Pence said Trump asked.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018No. I was angry,\u2019\u201d Pence said he responded.<\/p>\n
Pence said Trump wondered aloud, \u201cwith genuine sadness in his voice,\u201d what would have happened if he hadn\u2019t held a rally on Jan. 6, or if people hadn\u2019t gone to the Capitol.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018It\u2019s too terrible to end like this,\u2019\u201d Pence recalled Trump as saying.<\/p>\n
In a separate conversation a few days later, after Trump was impeached for the second time, Pence recalled telling Trump they would disagree on two things: Jan. 6 and the fact that Pence was \u201cnever gonna stop praying\u201d for Trump.<\/p>\n