What no one is saying out loud this evening:

[lutherj]

PENCE WAS THE TARGET. Obviously Trump’s legal counsel would have explained to Trump how the election under the constitution works. Even if he managed to stop the electoral certification it wouldn’t result in Trump continuing in office. For Trump the whole point of sending the mob to the Capitol was to whack Mike Pence because he wouldn’t agree to pardon Trump. The President can’t fire the Vice President because it’s an elected office. Trump’s whole MO is is to fire anyone who gets in his way. His tag line is “You’re fired!” So he he sent a mob to do it. If Pence had been killed Trump could appoint someone else, like Nixon appointed Ford. Someone who would agree to pardon Trump and his family.

[bamagal62]

1. Pence and Nancy Pelosi.

I think Pence became a target once he said he would certify.

[lutherj]

2. Killing Pelosi, and anyone else, would be icing on the cake, but wouldn't solve anything. Killing

Pence would get him a get out of jail free card. He deliberately put Pence into a no win bind by publicly pressuring him to not certify the election. He knew Pence had no choice. He used this pretext to send the mob hoping they would kill him.

[BigmanPigman]

5. And Pence has been mainly silent.

If someone who was supposed to be a colleague did a 180 and wanted me dead I would not be ignoring the subject, especially when everyone knows this really did happen.

[lutherj]

11. Trump didn't talk with him for five days. Everybody knows Trump didn't care about Pence's safety,

but it would sound crazy if Pence accused him of deliberately trying to kill him. Pence wouldn’t be sure himself. But during the insurrection when Trump heard from Tuberville that Pence was being evacuated he sent out the inflammatory tweet about Pence not doing the right thing.

[dawg day]

14. He dod apparently allow to be leaked that Trump

Did know where Pence was when the mob was attacking.

[PatrickforO]

25. No shit. If my boss tried to have me killed, we'd definitely be talking about it.

In court.

[WhiteTara]

31. Unlike the guy that Cheney shot

in the face, Pence hasn't apologized yet.

[BigmanPigman]

32. I remember that.

"Sorry I was standing in the way of your buckshot after you had a liquid lunch".

[Hekate]

21. Pence and Pelosi are next in line to POTUS. I think in Trump's madness he thought if they were both

...dead, he, Trump, would get to actually declare martial law and stay on as a dictator.

The mob was chanting “Hang Pence,” but they were also actively searching for “Naaaancy! Hey, Nancy!” up and down the hallways, and would have torn her to gobbets had they found her.

Everybody I saw on MSNBC today was talking about the risk to Pence’s life. Everybody gets that by now, unless their head is where the sun don’t shine.

What nobody’s talking about — yet — is that the Speaker of the House was also an active target. Yes, they have shown video and yes, they see it, but they are not fixated on that like they are now about how Pence was thrown to the howling mob by his own boss.

[Clearly fogged in]

9. And Pence was informed of the whole trurth then.

[left-of-center2012]

3. Wouldn't the new VP have to be approved by Congress?

[lutherj]

6. Yes, by the senate, which at the time was under McConnell's control. N/t

[dflprincess]

7. Both Houses have to approve a VP nominee. Nt

[lutherj]

12. Ok, Friday night tinfoil hat thinking.

You got me.

[dflprincess]

13. I thought it was as easy mistake to make

Given that other appointees just need Senate approval.

[left-of-center2012]

8. But would they do it if Pence had been killed?

[sdfernando]

10. No....has to approved by BOTH

Houses....BOTH of them get to vote. It’s the only situation where the House of Representatives gets a say.

[Blue Owl]

4. It's all very strange and revealing...

Revealing what monsters the GOP truly are

[Dan]

15. I think you got it...

"If Pence had been killed Trump could appoint someone else, like Nixon appointed Ford. Someone who would agree to pardon Trump and his family."

[czarjak]

16. Priceless, Pence pitching pablum pays pennies. Period.

[unblock]

18. Pretty pithy poem!

[3catwoman3]

17. I heard discussion on the progressive talk radio station...

...in Chicago that the murder of Pence would have given Trump the excuse he needed/wanted to declare martial law and delay the transfer of power.

[Pepsidog]

19. Interesting point I had not thought of. Is this really possible?

[leftyladyfrommo]

20. Claire McCaskill said that on Nicole Wallace's show.

She said Trump sent his mob to kill the VP.

[Sogo]

22. He wanted to appoint a new VP who WOULD throw out EVs.

Pence would not do that....Trump had been pressuring Pence to do that, and told him he could go down in history as a patriot or a pussy.

[Warpy]

28. That's exactly what he wanted,. He wasn't thinking pardon

he was thinking of clinging to the office he was so unsuited to, if indeed he was trying to sic an angry mob on Pence.

I wonder if Pence and Mother and the kid that was with them have any idea how close they came to being snuffed.

As an aside, most of that mob that has been questioned has mentioned the same source for radicalization: Facebook. If we want our country back, we need to get Zuckerberg to clean up his algorithm. It has been weaponized.

[Cirque du So-What]

23. Perhaps it was just a desire to feed the chaos

In his fetid mind, a high-level assassination would buy him some time - his most precious commodity at that moment - to implement more stalling tactics before the electoral vote got certified. I never said it had to make sense to us.

[rainin]

24. My Pillow Guy met with trump with plans to discuss Martial Law

And didn't Roger Stone call for it, too? I can't remember who the other figure was. We have to assume it was being considered, at least by those around him. A bloodbath would have provided the pretext, I think

[PatrickforO]

26. This makes sense, but it was a plan within a plan. Trump really tried to overthrow the election.

If his mob had found Pence, Pelosi and members of Congress, we could be under a dictatorship as we speak. With civil war brewing.

[kst]

27. That doesn't seem plausible.

Under Section 2 of the 25th Amendment, if the Vice Presidency is vacant, the President can nominate a replacement who then has to be confirmed by majorities of both Houses of Congress.

When Agnew resigned, it took nearly two months for Ford to be nominated and confirmed.

When Nixon resigned, the Vice Presidency remained vacant for more than four months before Nelson Rockefeller was nominated and confirmed.

If Pence had died just two weeks before the end of his term, it's unlikely that Congress would have confirmed a replacement.

[Ford_Prefect]

29. Correct! Of course that wouldn't matter to Donald, who believes the President is actually a king

with similar powers to rule by decree.

[Irish_Dem]

33. Yes this appears to have been the plan/