Donald Trump, increasingly isolated, lashes out at Mike Pence: Report

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After having fired up hundreds of supporters who surrounded the US Capitol in what even fellow Republicans called a deep stain on Trump’s reputation, several longtime advisors are turning away from talking to Trump.

According to four people familiar with the situation, US President Donald Trump has steadily isolated himself in the White House, concentrating on a small group of powerful supporters and wimping out at anyone who dare to cross him, including Vice President Mike Pence.

After having fired up hundreds of supporters who surrounded the US Capitol in what even republican Leaders called a deep stain on Trump’s reputation, several longtime advisors are turning away from talking to Trump.

Wednesday’s unprecedented invasion of the Capitol building ordered Pence and members of Congress to be evacuated just as they had assembled to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s 2020 election win over Trump. Four people, including a woman shot by the police, died in the confusion.

“Don’t want to,” one advisor said, speaking on condition of anonymity, when asked if any recent contact with the president had actually occurred.

Trump has repeatedly publicly and privately berated Pence for declining to try to keep Congress from certifying the victory of Biden, and has positioned Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short, for believing that Pence will fulfill his constitutional duty, the sources said.

Trump has been berating Pence to his face this week, one source said. The vice president’s office refused to comment.

But Republican Senator Jim Inhofe told the Tulsa World newspaper that on Wednesday night, he talked to Pence.

“He said, “I’ve known Mike Pence forever. “I’ve never seen Pence as frustrated as he was today.”

The gap between the two men was intense and they could never talk to each other again, a former senior administration official said.

Throughout the president’s four years in office, Pence, a former Indiana governor and former Republican congressman who harbors presidential aspirations, has remained loyal to Trump.

A Pence adviser said that “everyone around him is very proud of him” for how he fulfilled his constitutional duty and that he had told Trump what he wanted to do in advance.

“The President is not surprised by Mike Pence. He was frank about what he was about to do,’ the advisor said.

Supporters ‘EGGING HIM ON’

One source said that Trump has associated himself with an ever-smaller community of supporters who cater to his whims, including digital director Dan Scavino, personal assistant John McEntee, business manager Peter Navarro, speechwriter Stephen Miller, and personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

“That is sad. These are the individuals around him and egging him on,” the source said, who also asked not to be identified.”

The White House avoided commenting.

Initially, Trump was unwilling to criticize his supporters at all, the source said, but under pressure on Thursday night, he published a new video criticizing those defiling the Capitol and calling for peace. He also came closer to a formal concession than he ever had, pledging on Jan. 20 to ensure a “smooth transition” to a new administration.

“The honor of my lifetime has been to operate as your president,” he said in the video.