So I hope Mike has the courage to do what he has to do. And I hope he doesn't listen to the RINOs and the stupid people that he’s listening to."[435]
This characterization of Vice President Pence's decision had a direct impact on those who marched to and approached the Capitol, as illustrated by this testimony from a person convicted of crimes committed on January 6th:
So this woman came up to the side of us, and she, says, Pence folded. So it was kind of, like, okay. Well, in my mind I was thinking, "Well, that's it, you know." Well, my son-in-law looks at me, and he says, "I want to go in."[436]
Trump used the word "peacefully," written by speech writers, one time. But he delivered many other scripted and unscripted comments that conveyed a very different message:
Because you'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong. We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated, lawfully slated. . . .
And we fight. We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore. . . .[437]
Trump also was not the only rally speaker to do these things. Giuliani, for instance, also said, "Let's have trial by combat.[438] Likewise, Eastman used his two minutes on the Ellipse stage to make a claim already known to be false—that corrupted voted machines stole the election.[439]
The best indication of the impact of President Trump's words, both during the Ellipse speech and beforehand, are the comments from those supporters who attended the Ellipse rally and their conduct immediately thereafter. Videoclips show several of the attendees on their way to the Capitol or shortly after they arrived:
I'm telling you what, I'm hearing that Pence—hearing the Pence just caved. No. Is that true? I didn’t hear it. I'm hear—I'm hearing reports that Pence caved. No way. I’m telling you, if Pence caved, we're going to drag motherfuckers through the streets. You fucking politicians are going to get fucking drug through the streets.[440]
Yes. I guess the hope is that there's such a show of force here that Pence will decide do the right thing, according to Trump.[441]
Pence voted against Trump. [Interviewer: Ok. And that's when all this started?] Yup. That’s when we marched on the Capitol.[442]
