'Schoolyard bully' Donald Trump mocked for telling Mike Pence 'I don’t want to be your friend anymore'
The House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol's third public hearing on Thursday focused on former President Donald Trump's last-ditch effort to convince then-Vice President Mike Pence to overstep his constitutional authority and overturn the 2020 election.
During the testimony of retired Federal Appellate Court Judge John Michael Luttig – a conservative jurist who served as Pence's counsel prior to the insurrection – Congressman Pete Aguilar (D-California) read excerpts from a recently published book that chronicled the exchange Trump had with Pence about sending the results of the Electoral College back to states whom Trump was falsely alleging defrauded him out of a victory over President Joe Biden.
Luttig testified that "there was no basis in the Constitution or the laws of the United States at all for the theory espoused by [Trump attorney John] Eastman. At all. None," behind Eastman's emailed coup instructions.
The blurb recited by Aguilar noted that Pence felt the same way when Trump attempted to pressure him into cooperating:
In the book 'Peril,' Bob Woodward and Robert Costa write that the president said, 'if these people say you have the power, wouldn't you want to?' The vice president says, 'I wouldn't want any one person to have that authority. The president responds, 'well wouldn't it be almost cool to have that power?' The vice president is reported to have said, 'no, look, I've read this and I don't see a way to do it. We've exhausted every option. I've done everything I could and then some to find a way around this. It's simply not possible. My interpretation is no.'
Trump's response, according to Peril, was classic Trump.
" No no no, you don't understand Mike, you can do this," he reportedly insisted, adding, "I don’t want to be your friend anymore if you don’t do this."
Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol shortly thereafter while Pence was performing his duty to certify Biden's 306-232 win.
Watch below via The Recount:
\u201cRep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) quotes from Bob Woodward and Robert Costa's book "Peril," describing what Trump reportedly said to VP Pence when Pence refused to overturn the 2020 election result:\n\n"I don\u2019t want to be your friend anymore if you don\u2019t do this."\u201d— The Recount (@The Recount) 1655405042
Social media reactions carried a recurring theme.
\u201c"I don't want to be your friend any more" \u2014 holy fucking shit, we gave nuclear launch codes to a moron with the emotional maturity of a toddler\u201d— Jeff Tiedrich (@Jeff Tiedrich) 1655405017
\u201c\u201cI don\u2019t rant to be your friend anymore\u201d said the baby/bully.\u201d— Barbara Malmet (@Barbara Malmet) 1655406274
\u201c@therecount @mehdirhasan Aside from his treason, ya have a fuckin 76 year old man talking like a goddam 10 year old\u2014OMFG he makes me cringe so hard. I can\u2019t even look at him and won\u2019t he literally makes me physically ill.\u201d— The Recount (@The Recount) 1655405042
\u201c@therecount @mehdirhasan My gosh, what a kindergartener! It\u2019s something my 2 year old grand tells me when he\u2019s angry.\u201d— The Recount (@The Recount) 1655405042
\u201c@therecount Not surprisingly, Tr*mp doesn\u2019t understand that no means no\u201d— The Recount (@The Recount) 1655405042
\u201c@therecount I\u2019m uninviting you to my birthday party at Chuck E Cheese\u201d— The Recount (@The Recount) 1655405042
\u201c@therecount @costareports Basically a 6 year old.\u201d— The Recount (@The Recount) 1655405042
\u201cI love the \u201coverthrow the government or you can\u2019t come to my birthday\u201d vibe from Trump here\u201d— Angry Staffer \ud83c\udf3b (@Angry Staffer \ud83c\udf3b) 1655404744
\u201c"I don't want to be your friend anymore if you don\u2019t do this," Trump - a full grown man - told Mike Pence - another full grown man - while trying to get him to steal a free and fair election.\u201d— Brian Tyler Cohen (@Brian Tyler Cohen) 1655404727
\u201c"I DONT WANT TO BE YOUR FRIEND ANYMORE IF YOU DON'T DO THIS!" - a 74yo man child, not a 9yo #January6thCommitteeHearings\u201d— name cannot be blank (@name cannot be blank) 1655404625
