Trump's Last Stand Part IV: The Point Of No Return

In this episode of How It Happened: Trump's Last Stand, national political correspondent Jonathan Swan chronicles how President Donald Trump destroyed his most valuable political relationship — his partnership with Vice President Mike Pence — and set the events of Jan. 6 into motion.

• Swan uncovers the surprising catalyst that drove a wedge between Trump and his most loyal ally, a vice president often described as "subservient."
• Swan tracks Trump's increasing desperation as December became January and how he turned up the pressure on Pence to refuse to certify the election.

Note: This episode contains some explicit language.

Credits: This show is produced by Amy Pedulla, Naomi Shavin and Alice Wilder. Dan Bobkoff is the executive producer. Additional reporting and fact checking by Zach Basu. Margaret Talev is managing editor of politics. Sara Kehaulani Goo is Axios’s executive editor. Sound design by Alex Sugiura and theme music by Michael Hanf.

About this series: The reporting in this series is based on multiple interviews with current and former White House, campaign, government and congressional officials as well as direct eyewitnesses and people close to President Trump. Sources have been granted anonymity to share sensitive observations or details they would not be formally authorized to disclose. President Trump and other officials to whom quotes and actions have been attributed by others were provided the opportunity to confirm, deny or respond to reporting elements prior to publication.

This series was reported by White House reporter Jonathan Swan, with writing, reporting and research assistance by Zach Basu.