A new book claims that President Donald Trump called Vice President Mike Pence a "wimp" during their final phone call just hours before the Capitol riot occurred.
The interaction was documented by Pence in his personal notes, which are being published for the first time in an upcoming book by ABC News' Jonathan Karl titled Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign that Changed America.
The note was reportedly going to be used by Special Counsel Jack Smith against Trump if the president's Capitol riot case ever went to trial.
Trump allegedly wanted Pence to block then-incoming President Joe Biden’s certification as the winner of the 2020 election. When Pence refused, he reportedly told him that he would "go down as a wimp."
According to the book, Trump and his loyalists were pushing Pence to block Biden's victory in the days leading up to the Capitol riot, but Pence says he always refused to go along with their plans.
In his memoir, So Help Me God, Pence recalled receiving a call from Trump at around 11 am on January 6, when the outgoing president made a final plea for Pence to get on board with the plan to block Biden.
Pence reportedly reminded Trump that they'd both taken oaths to support and defend the Constitution.
"It doesn't take courage to break the law. It takes courage to uphold the law," Pence allegedly told Trump.
Pence reportedly again refused to help Trump and said he would certify the election results.
"If you do that, I made a big mistake 5 years ago," Trump reportedly told Pence during their final call.
The handwritten note also reportedly contains a sketch of a small angry face next to a comment, allegedly from Trump, telling Pence that he listens "to the wrong people."
Witnesses to the call on Trump's end of the phone testified to the House Select Committee on January 6 that the conversation became heated.
Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, said she heard her father use a "different tone" from the one he'd previously used with Pence.
Smith also reportedly obtained draft notes from Trump's speech on the Ellipse on the day of the Capitol riot, which show it was changed at the last minute to focus more on Pence.
Karl argues that Smith's evidence would have been among the most damning against Trump, but the Supreme Court's July 2024 ruling on presidential immunity ultimately undercut his ability to use it.
Smith resigned in January and argued in his report to then-Attorney General Merrick Garland that, had Trump not been re-elected, he would have had enough evidence to convict Trump.
"The Department's view that the Constitution prohibits the continued indictment and prosecution of a President is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government's proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Office stands fully behind," Smith wrote to conclude the report. "Indeed, but for Mr. Trump's election and imminent return to the Presidency, the Office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial."
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