Trump adds five off-script demands for Pence to his Ellipse speech

Date: 2021-01-06
Entry type: public-pressure-campaign
Current status: Committee linked the statements to immediate crowd anger against Pence

Speechwriters had removed the Pence attack; Trump restored it after the failed call and repeatedly targeted Pence before the crowd.

Entities and roles

Donald J. Trumpvice president and running mateMike Pence
politicaldocumented2 sourcesCited claim 1

factdocumented
After Pence refused by phone, Trump directed speechwriters to restore language targeting him and went off script five times to demand that Pence act, despite a White House lawyer's objection to the legal theory. The committee found the remarks produced substantial anger in the crowd, escalating the private pressure campaign into a public loyalty test.
- United States Government Publishing Office: Final Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States CapitolExecutive Summary pages 36–37: speech edits, five off-script references, and crowd response
- TIME: From taunts and lies to an angry mob: Jan. 6 panel details Trump's pressure campaign against PenceEllipse ad-libs targeting Pence and quoted demands to the crowd