Trump has not contacted Pence since storming of Capitol: report

President Trump has not spoken to Vice President Pence since last week’s violent riot at the Capitol, according to NBC senior Washington correspondent Hallie Jackson.

On NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, host Chuck Todd asked Jackson where the relationship between Trump and Pence stood.

“In a nutshell, Chuck, it’s not good,” said Jackson. 

“I have learned from a source familiar with this that not only did President Trump not reach out to Vice President Pence as the events of Wednesday unfolded — and, remember, the vice president was in a secure location with, by the way, members of his family; his wife, his daughter, his brother had all come to be in attendance — but I’m told that the president has not called Vice President Pence since then.”

NEW: @HallieJackson reports that President Trump “has not called Vice President Pence” since Wednesday. #MTP

Jackson: “It is a striking detail and I think it reflects … how acrimonious [their relationship] has become.” pic.twitter.com/D3yqub1085

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) January 10, 2021

When pro-Trump supporters broke into the Capitol on Wednesday, Pence was swiftly moved to a secure location. According to reports, the vice president did not leave the Capitol at any time during the riots.

Footage of the Capitol breach released afterward showed rioters chanting, “Hang Mike Pence,” apparently stemming from his decision to not intervene in changing the results of the presidential election. 

Though Trump publicly pressured Pence to try to overturn the election, the vice president’s ability to do so was widely disputed. Congress ultimately certified President-elect Joe Biden’s victory early Thursday morning, hours after authorities cleared rioters out of Capitol.

“It wasn’t just the public pressure,” added Jackson on Sunday. “I’m told that as far back as Dec. 15 — mid-December, so weeks ago — there were behind-the-scenes maneuvering to try to essentially get the vice president to do what the president wanted.”

Since the riot, multiple lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called on Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from office. Democratic lawmakers have also reportedly already begun impeachment proceedings against Trump. The president was impeached by the House in 2019, though he was later acquitted by the Senate.

Jackson said on NBC that she’s been told that Pence does not think invoking the 25th Amendment is “practical.”

“That’s what we’ve been hearing and reporting from people close to him, allies, etc. But there is real concern and anger here about how this moves forward,” she added.