Former White House Situation Room officer Mike Stiegler revealed that then-President Donald Trump never called down to check on then-Vice President Mike Pence as Trump fans hunted him at the Capitol, and that we were “that close” to losing the VP.
On Tuesday’s edition of ABC’s Good Morning America, anchor George Stephanopoulos sat down with Stiegler, whose account of the Capitol riot is included in the host’s new book “The Situation Room.”
In a stunning exchange, Stiegler revealed just how close Pence came to getting killed — to the point of asking “Where’s the second in line?” — and that Trump never called down to the White House nerve center to ask about Pence:
I imagine Trump was bewildered by any questions about succession, that doesn’t come into play when offing those deemed disloyal. When he learned rioters were being turned away because their weapons couldn’t go through magnetometer screening he told aides, “They’re not here to hurt me. Take the fucking mags away.”