Here's the real Donald.
This is one of the reasons it is incomprehensible to me that anyone would think it's remotely okay for him to hold office again, let alone support him at all for anything. He should actually be thrown in prison for this.
Around 2:13 p.m. ET on Jan. 6, Pence’s Secret Service detail decided to remove him from the Senate floor and take him to a shelter-in-place location below-ground. That security camera footage shown by House managers is, in retrospect, some of the most chilling captured that day. Shortly after Pence makes his way down the stairwell, his military aide, carrying a large briefcase, follows. The briefcase is the nuclear "football" — an exact copy of the one the president’s military aide was guarding at the White House that day.
That Pence had a military aide and a briefcase was a surprise to many who aren’t familiar with the command and control of strategic nuclear forces. Suddenly the import of what happened acquired a new salience: Did Trump’s inaction place not only his vice president, but the security of the nuclear deterrent in jeopardy?
Short answer: Yes. About 10 minutes after Pence was evacuated, Trump tweeted in rage, “Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.”
It was, in fact, Trump whose actions had just compromised national security. Given the chaos of the moment, though, it is not inconceivable that Pence might have been separated from the military aide during the evacuation. It is horrifying to speculate about this scenario because it is reasonable to envision exactly that might have happened.
Trump knew exactly the danger that Pence and the nuclear football that the VP carries was in. He didn't care. All he cared about was retaining power.
Right before Trump sent the tweet castigating his vice president, he had spoken with Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who said he told the president that Pence had been taken from the chamber. And we know Trump was watching television — where Pence's emergency evacuation would have been hard to miss.
This is one of the reasons it is incomprehensible to me that anyone would think it's remotely okay for him to hold office again, let alone support him at all for anything. He should actually be thrown in prison for this.
Around 2:13 p.m. ET on Jan. 6, Pence’s Secret Service detail decided to remove him from the Senate floor and take him to a shelter-in-place location below-ground. That security camera footage shown by House managers is, in retrospect, some of the most chilling captured that day. Shortly after Pence makes his way down the stairwell, his military aide, carrying a large briefcase, follows. The briefcase is the nuclear "football" — an exact copy of the one the president’s military aide was guarding at the White House that day.
That Pence had a military aide and a briefcase was a surprise to many who aren’t familiar with the command and control of strategic nuclear forces. Suddenly the import of what happened acquired a new salience: Did Trump’s inaction place not only his vice president, but the security of the nuclear deterrent in jeopardy?
Short answer: Yes. About 10 minutes after Pence was evacuated, Trump tweeted in rage, “Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.”
It was, in fact, Trump whose actions had just compromised national security. Given the chaos of the moment, though, it is not inconceivable that Pence might have been separated from the military aide during the evacuation. It is horrifying to speculate about this scenario because it is reasonable to envision exactly that might have happened.
Trump knew exactly the danger that Pence and the nuclear football that the VP carries was in. He didn't care. All he cared about was retaining power.
Right before Trump sent the tweet castigating his vice president, he had spoken with Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who said he told the president that Pence had been taken from the chamber. And we know Trump was watching television — where Pence's emergency evacuation would have been hard to miss.
