Pence ‘nearly’ died on January 6

A former Situation Room officer says former Vice President Mike Pence was “nearly” killed on January 6, 2021, during the riot at the U.S. Capitol.

“It’s important for me to remember that we came close to winning and we had discussions that if we lost the vice president, the 25th Amendment would be invoked,” Mike Stiegler said in an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that aired Tuesday on “Good Morning America,” in a clip highlighted by Mediate. “We started looking at all these courses of action because the date was getting closer.”

Stiegler also agreed with Stephanopoulos when he characterized the January 6 riot as “by our own people” and “inspired” by Trump.

“But at the time, it wasn’t even our priority,” Stiegler continued. “It doesn’t matter how we got here. We’re here. How do we do it? How do we move forward?”

On January 6, Mike Pence was threatened with violence for refusing to overturn the 2020 election. He was at the Capitol when rioters broke in and was taken to an underground loading dock amid the attack, according to the Secret Service.

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), considered a possible running mate for former President Trump in 2024, has said he doubts Pence’s life was in danger that day, saying earlier this month that he believes “politics and politicians really like to exaggerate things from time to time.”

“I think January 6th was a bad day. It was a riot. But the idea that Donald Trump would endanger anyone’s life by asking them to peacefully protest is just absurd,” Vance added.

Pence said in March that he would not support his former boss, saying he was “incredibly proud” of the Trump administration’s record, but “there were profound differences between me and President Trump on a whole range of issues.” He has voiced opposition to Trump’s stance on abortion and his opposition to banning TikTok, among other issues.

“In each of these cases, Donald Trump is pursuing and articulating an agenda that is at odds with the conservative agenda that we have governed on during our four years in office,” Pence said. “That is why I cannot, in good conscience, support Donald Trump in this campaign.”

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