Trump reportedly told Pence he wouldn't want to be his friend anymore if he didn't block election certification

Donald Trump, Mike Pence.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Former President Donald Trump reportedly tried to hold his friendship with former Vice President Mike Pence hostage as he tried to convince the latter to block Congress' election certification in general, according to an excerpt from the upcoming book Peril by journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.

When Pence told Trump that the Constitution did not allow him to do anything about the certification process, despite claims from some of Trump's supporters, the president first tried to tempt him with the promise of authority. "But wouldn't it be almost cool to have that power?," Trump reportedly asked.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.