Trump Denies Pence Warned Him He Can’t Cancel Election Results

Vice President Mike Pence listens to President Donald Trump speak in the Cabinet Room at the White House on December 9, 2019. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

President Donald Trump late Tuesday night denied reports that Vice President Mike Pence, who will oversee Congress’ official tallying of the Electoral College’s votes in a joint session on Wednesday, told him that he wouldn’t be able to prevent Congress from certifying the 2020 election results.

“The New York Times report regarding comments Vice President Pence supposedly made to me today is fake news. He never said that,” Trump said in a statement issued by his reelection campaign, which erroneously dated the memo to January 5, 2020.

The President claimed that he and Pence “are in total agreement that the Vice President has the power to act.”

On the contrary, the vice president does not have the power to flatly overturn the election, something Pence explained to the President on Tuesday afternoon, according to the New York Times. CNN later confirmed the conversation.

As clearly indicated in the President’s denial, Pence’s reported warning didn’t stick: Trump has already fired off several tweets (chock full of his usual falsehoods about voter fraud) on Wednesday morning hammering on the vice president.

“If Vice President @Mike_Pence comes through for us, we will win the Presidency,” Trump tweeted.

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. Et tu, Q-Tip?

  2. Well, back to (temporary) reality from the happy dance in Georgia.
    This too shall pass.

  3. Avatar for grack grack says:

    From the NYT piece on the subject:

    Mr. Pence has spent hours with parliamentarians and lawyers in recent days.

    But he got tired of them laughing at him.

  4. What are the odds this (plus the beautiful Georgia one-two) is going to push Corporal Bone Spurs into full-on sedition at today’s D.C. gathering of the paunches?

  5. Avatar for matx matx says:

    Pence is a sad little man—should have recorded it like Raffensberger. Anyone who takes a call with Blotus should record and. Let him know it and end call if told to stop recording

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

40 more replies

Participants

Avatar for discobot Avatar for epicurus Avatar for mickeyg Avatar for christianhankel Avatar for daveyjones64 Avatar for lastroth Avatar for alyoshakaramazov1 Avatar for tena Avatar for fuadreviez Avatar for lcbo Avatar for bankerpup Avatar for tiowally Avatar for matx Avatar for dannydorko Avatar for grack Avatar for maximus Avatar for seamus42 Avatar for timorwig Avatar for rascal_crone Avatar for dogmaalsocatma Avatar for Volvo_Birkenstock Avatar for dadawerke Avatar for Scoutmom Avatar for Mikebeee

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: