[guest post by Dana]

From Jack Smith’s election case filing. When the vice-president was in peril on Jan. 6:

It was at that point—alone, watching news in real time, and with knowledge that rioters had breached the Capitol building—that the defendant issued the 2:24 p.m. Tweet attacking Pence for refusing the defendant’s entreaties to join the conspiracy and help overturn the results of the election.©’ One minute later, the Secret Service was forced to evacuate Pence to a secure location in the Capitol.°* This was roughly ninety minutes after Pence had announced publicly that he would not act unlawfully to overturn the election;°” the certification proceeding was underway; and the first breach of the Capitol building had occurred minutes before, at 2:12 p.m.%! At that point, the defendant’s only hope to disrupt the certification proceeding and retain power was through his angry supporters. The defendant further revealed the private nature of his desperate conduct as a candidate, rather than a President, in an exchange (that the Government does not plan to use at trial) he had with aide shortly after the 2:24 p.m. Tweet. Upon receiving a phone call alerting him that Pence had been taken to a secure location, rushed to the dining room to inform the defendant in hopes that the defendant would take action to ensure Pence’s safety. Instead, after RI delivered the news, the defendant looked at him and said only, “So what?”°”

Clearly the former president didn’t care about his vice-president and the danger he faced. He also had no respect for Mike Pence as evidenced by his pressuring him to not certify the election results. With that, what makes any voter think that he cares about them, their lives, or even the country at large? Sure, he cares about their vote, but it stops there. To Trump, the voters and his vice-president were simply a means to an end. And that end was the consolidation of power. Make no mistake, Trump continues to live for himself and what benefits the Trump Brand. He is the same as he has always been. Probably worse. After all, he has had 4 years of nursing his delusions regarding his 2020 election loss.

Another snippet demonstrating that Trump doesn’t care about the rule of the law, the voters, or anyone but himself:

Privately, the defendant told advisors—including | PO | Campaign personnel, P| (a White House staffer and Campaign volunteer), and | PB (the Vice President’s Chief of Staff}—that in such a scenario, he would simply declare victory before all the ballots were counted and any winner was projected.* Publicly, the defendant began to plant the seeds for that false declaration. In the months leading up to the election, he refused to say whether he would accept the election results, insisted that he could lose the election only because of fraud, falsely claimed that mail-in ballots were inherently fraudulent, and asserted that only votes counted by election day were valid.

…

By October 2020, | PL | a private political advisor who had worked for the defendant’s 2016 presidential campaign, began to assist with the defendant’s re-election effort. Three days before election day, described the defendant’s plan to a private gathering of supporters: “And what Trump’s going to do is just declare victory. Right? He’s going to declare victory. That doesn’t mean he’s the winner, he’s just going to say he’s the winner.” !! After explaining that Biden’s supporters favored voting by mail, stated further, “And so they’re going to have a natural disadvantage and Trump’s going to take advantage of it—that’s our strategy. He’s going to declare himself a winner.”

And that is just what he did: slap the voters in the face.

We know that Trump is willing to trash the Constitution and attempt to overturn an election if it doesn’t go his way. And we just saw his running mate J.D. Vance refuse to say on the debate stage whether Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. With an opportunity to reassure voters of his integrity, he refused:

TW: I would just ask that. Did he lose the 2020 election?

JDV: Tim, I’m focused on the future. Did Kamala Harris censor Americans from speaking their mind in the wake of the 2020 COVID situation?

TW: That is a damning. That is a damning non answer.

A spot-on response:

It certainly is [damning]. In a second Trump administration, Vance’s opinions about tariffs, abortion, health care, and other issues probably wouldn’t matter. Trump would make those calls. But when the time comes to certify an election, Vance’s opinions and decisions would be crucial. He believes that he and Trump could push constitutional boundaries to overturn the results. And on the debate stage, facing two audiences—the people of the United States on one hand, and Trump on the other—Vance refused to acknowledge that Trump lost.

That moment tells you the most important thing about Vance: When democracy is in peril, he will bow to Trump, not to the people or the Constitution. He must never be given that chance.

There is video of J.D. Vance saying that Donald Trump won the election:

.@jasonselvig: “Who won the 2020 election?… Did Donald Trump win?”

JD Vance: “Yes.”

This is disqualifying.pic.twitter.com/imAdjx1PZj

— Republican Voters Against Trump (@AccountableGOP) October 3, 2024

–Dana