# Final Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol/Chapter 7/Section 7.1

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​7.1 "REINSERT THE MIKE PENCE LINES"
President Trump tweeted three times on the morning of January 6th, repeating a false claim of election fraud at 8:06 a.m., pressuring Vice President Pence to delay the electoral count at 8:17 a.m., and urging Republican party officials to do the same at 8:22 a.m.26 He made calls to his Republican allies in Congress, many of whom were already committed to objecting to the electoral count.27 And he dialed his lawyers and advisors—including Steve Bannon and Rudolph Giuliani (twice), both of whom had been counseling the President on how to stay in power.
There was one person—critical to his plan—whom President Trump tried to reach but couldn't. At 9:02 a.m., he asked the switchboard operator to call his Vice President. Vice President Pence did not answer the call.
Instead, between 9:52 a.m. and 10:18 a.m., the President spoke with his speechwriter, Stephen Miller, about the words he would deliver at the Save America Rally just hours later. The former President's speech had come together over the course of 36 hours, going from a screed aimed at encouraging congressional objections to one that would ultimately incite mob violence.
Only four minutes after the call concluded, at 10:22 a.m., Miller emailed revisions to the speechwriters, instructing them to "[s]tart inputting these changes asap" that included "red highlights marking POTUS edits." The President had made some cosmetic additions, like peppering in the word "corrupt" throughout, but there was one substantive edit—a new target—that would focus the crowd's anger on one man.
None of the preceding drafts mentioned Vice President Pence whatsoever. But now, at the very last minute, President Trump slipped in the following sentences calling the Vice President out by name:
   Today, we will see whether Republicans stand strong for the integrity of our elections. And we will see whether Mike Pence enters history as a truly great and courageous leader. All he has to do is
(Photo provided to the Select Committee by the National Archives and Records Administration)
   refer the illegally-submitted electoral votes back to the states that were given false and fraudulent information where they want to recertify. With only 3 of the 7 states in question we win and become President and have the power of the veto.
(Photo provided to the Select Committee by the National Archives and Records Administration)
electoral count based on Eastman's unconstitutional and illegal theory. Vice President Pence would not budge. The Vice President consistently rejected President Trump's demands.
After tweeting four more times that morning—all of them spreading lies about the election—the President apparently thought he had one last chance to convince his number two to overrule the will of the American people.
As recounted in Chapter 5, President Trump called Vice President Pence at 11:17 a.m. The call between the two men—during which the President soon grew "frustrat[ed] or heated," visibly upset, and "angry"—lasted nearly 20 minutes. And President Trump insulted Vice President Pence when he refused to obstruct or delay the joint session.
(Photo provided to the Select Committee by the National Archives and Records Administration)
that he had reached Vincent Haley by phone. Haley corroborated that he added one "tough sentence about the Vice President" while he was at the teleprompter.
The final written draft had the following Pence reference: "And we will see whether Mike Pence enters history as a truly great and courageous leader." Haley wasn't confident that line was what he reinserted, but email traffic and teleprompter drafts produced by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) indicate that he was mistaken.
After defying President Trump's pressure, Vice President Pence—and the ire of the President he inspired—was back in the speech.
After the heated call, President Trump's personal assistant Nicholas Luna handed him a message on White House card stock and the President departed for the Ellipse to give his speech. Preserved by NARA, the message read: "THEY ARE READY FOR YOU WHEN YOU ARE." When it finally came time for him to speak, President Trump repeatedly directed his anger at Vice President Pence—often ad-libbing lines that were not included in the draft text.