President Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Fayetteville, N.C., Nov. 2, 2020.
On Wednesday (Jan. 6), Vice President Mike Pence said before a joint session of Congress that he did not have the power to veto the controversial Electoral College vote. President Trump responded by saying that Pence “doesn’t have the courage”.
Mike Pence did not have the courage to do what he should have done to protect our country and our Constitution by giving states a chance to certify a set of corrected facts instead of the fraudulent or inaccurate facts they were previously asked to certify,” Trump tweeted Wednesday. America 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 USA demands the truth!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021
Earlier in the day, Pence said in a statement ahead of a joint session of Congress that he did not believe he had the right to make decisions about electoral votes.
“A considered judgment, my oath to support and defend the Constitution, prevents me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not.” Pence wrote.
He also said his role as Senate president, which oversees the certification of Electoral College votes, is merely “ceremonial” and said he welcomes challenges to electoral votes from members of Congress and will “give due consideration” to those that meet the requirements.
“Some believe that as vice president, I should be able to unilaterally accept or reject electoral votes. Others believe that the electoral votes should never be challenged in a joint session of Congress.” Pence wrote, “After a careful study of our Constitution, laws and history, I believe that neither view is correct.”
Early Wednesday morning, before Pence made the statement, Trump tweeted that he would win a second term if Pence “stepped up to the plate” when Congress counted the electoral votes. He also reiterated his call for Pence to return election results from key battleground states to state legislatures in a joint session of Congress and encouraged him, saying, “Let’s do it. This is a moment that requires great courage!”
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