Pence's statement yesterday isn't surprising given his very public split with Trump after the election, coupled with the fact that Trump demonstrated little regard for Pence's life on January 6. On the other hand, I don't recall a prior instance of a United States VP ever turning on their former boss.
Here's a list - - like nobody's ever seen before! - - of nearly two dozen former Trump aides and allies who turned against him:
Here's a list - - like nobody's ever seen before! - - of nearly two dozen former Trump aides and allies who turned against him:
- Trump's Vice President Mike Pence (see above): "Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States."
- Trump's Attorney General Bill Barr: "Someone who engaged in that kind of [conduct] about a process that is fundamental to our system and to our self-government shouldn’t be anywhere near the Oval Office.”
- Trump's first Secretary of Defense General James Mattis.
- Trump's second Secretary of Defense Mark Esper: "I think he’s unfit for office. … He puts himself before country. His actions are all about him and not about the country. And then, of course, I believe he has integrity and character issues as well.”
- Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Mark Milley: "We don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator. We take an oath to the Constitution and we take an oath to the idea that is America – and we’re willing to die to protect it.”
- Trump's first Secretary of State Rex Tillerson: "(Trump’s) understanding of global events, his understanding of global history, his understanding of US history was really limited. It’s really hard to have a conversation with someone who doesn’t even understand the concept for why we’re talking about this . . . He's a fvcking moron."
- Trump's first ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley: He "gets weak in the knees when it comes to Ukraine. A terrible thing happened on January 6 and he called it a beautiful day.”
- Trump's presidential transition chair Chris Christie: "Someone who I would argue now is just out for himself.”
- Trump's second national security adviser, General HR McMaster: "We saw the absence of leadership, really anti-leadership, and what that can do to our country.”
- Trump's third national security adviser John Bolton: "I believe (foreign leaders) think he is a laughing fool.”
- Trump's second Chief of Staff, General John Kelly: "A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law. There is nothing more that can be said. God help us.”
- Trump's former acting Chief of Staff and special envoy to Ireland Nick Mulvaney: "I quit because I think he failed at being the president when we needed him to be that.”
- Aide to Trump's last Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Cassidy Hutchinson
- Trump's Director of Communications Anthony Scaramucci
- Trump's Secretary of Education Betsy Devos
- Trump's Secretary of Transportation Elaine Choi: "At a particular point the events were such that it was impossible for me to continue, given my personal values and my philosophy."
- Trump's first Secretary of the Navy, Richard Spencer: "The president has very little understanding of what it means to be in the military, to fight ethically or to be governed by a uniform set of rules and practices.”
- Trump's first Homeland Security adviser Tom Bossert: "The President undermined American democracy baselessly for months. As a result, he’s culpable for this siege, and an utter disgrace.”
- Trump's longtime lawyer and 'fixer' Michael Cohen.
- Trump's White House Counsel Ty Cobb.
- Trump's former Director of Strategic Communications Alyssa Farah Griffin.
- Trump's former Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews: "I think that his actions on January 6 and the lead-up to it, the way that he’s acted in the aftermath, and his continuation of pushing this lie that the election is stolen has made him wholly unfit to hold office ever again.”
