During the January 6 insurrection as rioters were hunting down the Vice President and chanting “Hang Mike Pence!” with a gallows outside the Capitol building, the President of the United States said maybe they should, his chief of staff Mark Meadows told colleagues in the White House.
“Mr. Meadows, according to an account provided to the House committee investigating Jan. 6,” The New York Times reports, “told the colleagues that Mr. Trump had said something to the effect of, maybe Mr. Pence should be hung.”
The New York Times also said that Trump was upset his vice president had been taken away by Secret Service.
Meadows “left the dining room off the Oval Office, walked into his own office and told colleagues that President Donald J. Trump was complaining that the vice president was being whisked to safety,” The Times notes.
A Trump spokesperson, Taylor Budowich, criticized the House Select Committee but did not deny the claims.
“This partisan committee’s vague ‘leaks,’ anonymous testimony and willingness to alter evidence proves it’s just an extension of the Democrat smear campaign,” he said. “Americans are tired of the Democrat lies and the charades, but, sadly, it’s the only thing they have to offer.”
In November of last year Trump defended the rioters calling for Pence to be hanged.
“Well, the people were very angry he told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl, as CNN reported: