Not only did Trump attack Pence as the insurrection was underway, tweeting about his vice president’s “lack of courage” even after, according to recently revealed evidence, he was aware of the violence and of his supporters having weapons; Trump also showed a remarkable callousness toward Pence in the aftermath of that day.
A long-burning question has been how Pence could just let that go — having been so personally endangered by that mob, one so obviously spurred by Trump’s quest to stay in power.
Pence has said very little about that issue publicly, and he has only infrequently carved out differences with Trump on Jan. 6, on occasions when the subject could scarcely be avoided. In February, in response to the former president’s remarks at a rally, he called Trump’s plot “un-American” and said Trump was wrong about what Pence could even do that day as he oversaw the joint session of Congress.
But increasingly, he seems happy to pursue a bifurcated approach, in which his aides do the speaking for him on that subject (to whatever degree he has or has not personally blessed it) — while he continues walking his 2024 tightrope in a party so dominated by Trump.
