Advisers to former President Donald Trump say he still has not expressed remorse for the siege at the US Capitol, which could end up being important for Senate jurors to consider after House impeachment managers on Wednesday released new video of the violent mob’s assault on January 6.
One of the new clips show then-Vice President Mike Pence and his family being hustled away by Secret Service as the siege was under way. That affirms what Pence aides told CNN in the days following the deadly insurrection. Some of those aides were outraged with Trump and believed he had put his own vice president in danger.
Pence, who plans to keep laying low during the impeachment trial, has not quite patched up his relationship with Trump after what happened, according to a source familiar with the situation.
The source said Pence and Trump “discussed everything” that happened on January 6. But at the time, the source said, both men were more focused on just getting to January 20 — Inauguration Day.
“He got his point across at the meeting afterward,” the source said of Pence, noting there were some lingering hard feelings. Trump did not express remorse for putting Pence in a harrowing situation at the meeting, the source added.
“That’s not his style,” the source said.
But the source said it is likely both men will be able to move on after the events surrounding January 6. “Time will heal things,” the source predicted.
Another clip showed by the Democratic House managers depicted a Capitol Police officer directing Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, away from the mob.
A former Romney adviser noted it is likely the officer saved the senator from serious injury or worse. “But for the grace of God,” the ex-adviser said.
As for the siege, an adviser said Trump wanted to see a show of force from his supporters that day. “Trump likes force,” one adviser said. “He saw people forcefully fighting for him,” the adviser added.
That lines up with what a former senior White House official told CNN about Trump’s reaction to the siege. The official said Trump was “loving” watching the mob.
Whataboutism appears to be at the heart of the Trump team response to the case made by the House impeachment managers. Aides to the former President have spent much of the day posting old clips of some of the impeachment managers using phrases such as “fight like hell.”
The only problem is there was no insurrection that followed when those Democrats engaged in that kind of rhetoric.
A source close to Trump who has discussed the impeachment case with him acknowledged the facts are “really bad” for the former President.
The source told CNN the new video was “undeniably powerful.” When asked if Trump has any remorse, the source laughed and said that to Trump there’s no greater offense than saying “sorry.” The source added that Democrats realize they may not be able to convict Trump and prevent him from running again, so they are doing the next best thing: swaying public opinion to the point where he can’t run again.
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