A former Situation Room officer said former Vice President Mike Pence came “close” to being killed on Jan. 6, 2021, during the riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“It's important to me that we don't forget that it did come that close, and that we did have discussions, ‘If we lose the [vice president,] if the 25th [Amendment] is invoked,'” Mike Stiegler said in an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos. “We started running through all of these game plans because it was getting close.”
Stiegler also agreed with Stephanopoulos when he referred to the Jan. 6. riot as one “of our own people” and “inspired” by Trump.
“But at the time, that's not even in the forefront of our mind,” Stiegler continued. “It doesn't matter how we got here. We're here. How do we execute? How do we move forward?”
Pence faced threats of violence on Jan. 6 for refusing to overturn the 2020 election. He was at the Capitol when rioters broke in and was taken to an underground loading dock amid the attack, according to the Secret Service.
In March, Pence said that he will not endorse his former boss, saying he was “incredibly proud” of the Trump administration's record, but “there were profound differences between me and President Trump on a range of issues.”
“In each of these cases, Donald Trump is pursuing and articulating an agenda that is at odds with the conservative agenda that we governed on during our four years,” Pence said. “And that's why I cannot in good conscience endorse Donald Trump in this campaign.”
This article originally appeared on Great America News Desk. Republished with permission.
