On Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence publicly rejected the idea that he should intervene in the process of certifying the electoral college outcome in order to ultimately swing that outcome to Trump. Trump and top allies of the outgoing president had previously falsely claimed that Pence, in his role presiding over the electoral vote certification proceedings, had the authority to set aside certain electoral votes of his own accord. After Pence publicly rejected this notion and began going through the motions of leading the proceedings according to the law, Trump lashed out on Twitter.
He tweeted the following message:
‘Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!’
Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021
The results that stand before Congress for certification were not, in any respect, “fraudulent or inaccurate.” Neither Trump nor any of his allies have won a single court case anywhere in the country that has placed them anywhere remotely close to overturning the election outcome in a single state — although this set of facts clearly isn’t poised to stop the anti-democratic, dictatorial trainwreck of the Trump team’s actions.
"The president's tweets have been insane … this is nothing short of an attempt to take over the government" — @RepKinzinger pic.twitter.com/mp0kdMLE3I
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 6, 2021
On Wednesday, as Trump ranted on Twitter, some of his supporters violently swarmed Capitol Hill, where Congress had been holding the proceedings to officially confirm Joe Biden’s electoral college victory. Once some of Trump’s backers broke into the Capitol complex, both chambers of Congress abruptly ended their proceedings as the building and surrounding areas went on lockdown while authorities tried to deal with the threat. Footage from the area showed some of the president’s supporters deploying tactics like breaking windows and setting off a fire extinguisher, and Trump’s backers eventually made their way all the way into the Senate chamber after Senators evacuated the area.
Crazy images pic.twitter.com/lel41PtnHC
— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) January 6, 2021
Trump posted two tepid tweets encouraging his supporters to “stay peaceful,” but there was no apparent immediate sign of his backers who were at the Capitol taking these words to heart. Trump is continuing his false insistence that the presidential election was “rigged” against him, which his most fervent supporters have clearly used as an excuse for their brazenly anti-democratic antics. On Wednesday, supporters of the outgoing president of the United States essentially placed the U.S. Capitol building under siege, which might very well be a first in American history.
Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021
I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021
Check out Twitter’s response below:
