Pence 'angry' after Trump says he 'didn't have the courage' to overturn election, Inhofe says
Pence reportedly told Inhofe 'after all the things I've done for (Trump)'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Longtime lawmaker Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., said he'd never seen Vice President Pence as "angry" as he was when President Trump pressured him to decertify and return the results of the presidential election back to the states.
Trump on Wednesday slammed Pence, saying he "didn’t have the courage" to do so.
"I’ve known Mike Pence forever," Inhofe told Tulsa World. "I’ve never seen Pence as angry as he was today."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I had a long conversation with him," said Inhofe. "He said, 'After all the things I’ve done for (Trump).'"
Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., read the final certification of Electoral College votes cast in November's presidential election during a joint session of Congress after working through the night, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool) (AP)
Inhofe also criticized the president.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Republicans have always been for states’ rights," Inhofe told Tulsa World. "Democrats are the ones who always tried to nationalize elections."
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Pence presided over a joint session of Congress Wednesday to certify the Electoral College results. He said just before the session began that, despite the pressure from the president, he does not believe that he "unilaterally" has the ability to accept or reject electoral votes.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The president insisted that Pence had the power to decertify the results of the 2020 presidential election.
President Donald Trump speaks at a rally Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
"Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify," Trump wrote in a now-deleted tweet. "USA demands the truth!"
However, Pence received praise from some Trump supporters.
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"Vice President Pence was a profile in courage yesterday," former House Speaker Newt Gingrich wrote on Twitter. "He understood that his oath was to the Constitution not to a party, policy, or person. He did what he believed was right and he did so under enormous pressure. Whether you agreed with his actions his courage deserves credit."
Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.