Just as former president Donald Trump is the prime target of the ongoing January 6 hearings, former vice president Mike Pence — and by extension, his suspected presidential aspirations — could be an unintended beneficiary. The January 6 hearings have not only reminded many voters that Pence is a mature, principled figure who acted with courage that day, but they have also served to distance him from the former president. The hearings drive home that, despite intense pressure from Trump and the anticipated anger he would face from many millions of the president’s followers, Pence certified the Electoral College votes as was his duty under the Constitution.
In her testimony to the committee, Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to then-chief of staff Mark Meadows, claimed Meadows and former White House counsel Pat Cipollone discussed that Trump did not care about the possibility that the January 6 rioters could hurt Pence. According to Hutchinson, when Cipollone urged action be taken after pointing out that the rioters were calling for Pence to “be f***ing hung,” Meadows, referring to the conversation they just had with Trump, said, “You heard him. He thinks Mike deserves it. He doesn’t think they’re doing anything wrong.” This was despite the fact that rioters chanted “Hang Mike Pence” and built a gallows with a noose in front of the Capitol.
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