Trump was ‘loving watching the Capitol mob,’ former senior White House official claims

Donald Trump was “loving watching the Capitol mob” lay siege to the heart of American democracy on TV on 6 January, an ex-White House aide has told CNN on the day the historic second impeachment trial of the 45th president is due to get underway in the Senate.

Mr Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives on 13 January for inciting the failed insurrection in protest at the certification of November’s election results, having given a speech at a “Stop the Steal” rally nearby just prior to the rioters’ deadly march on the Capitol in which he insisted the presidential race had been “stolen” from him by a Democratic conspiracy he comprehensively failed to prove had taken place.

The president was criticised for his inaction in halting the siege on the day itself, with The Washington Post subsequently reporting that influential Republicans Kevin McCarthy, Lindsey Graham and Kellyanne Conway had all called his inner circle to urge him to intervene and quoting another aide who commented: “He was hard to reach, and you know why? Because it was live TV. If it’s TiVo, he just hits pause and takes the calls. If it’s live TV, he watches it, and he was just watching it all unfold.”

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Mr Trump duly left office on 20 January, a fact that has prompted his defence lawyers and Republican allies in the Senate like Rand Paul and Tom Cotton to argue his Senate trial is unconstitutional since the ultimate purpose of impeachment is to remove a sitting president from office and Mr Trump is already a private citizen.

But Democrats argue he must be held accountable for his actions and hope to secure a conviction that would see him banned from running from elected office in future, potentially for the presidency again in 2024.

Mr Trump has kept a low profile at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida since leaving the White House and losing his Twitter account but has reportedly been reaching out to former advisers and officials regarding the impeachment trial.

He hosted the House minority leader, the aforementioned Mr McCarthy, at his home last month in a visit apparently made to repair relations.

Mr Trump has also repeatedly raised the question of “accountability” regarding the 10 Republican members of congress who joined the opposition in voting for his impeachment 232-197, notably Wyoming party elder Liz Cheney, according to CNN’s sources.

One unnamed adviser said the former president accused the GOP members concerned of “turning against the people” in acting as they did.

Ms Cheney has already seen fellow Republican Matt Gaetzcampaigning against her in her home state, with her fellow rebels likewise expected to face future primary election challenges from pro-Trump candidates.

Such actions were foreshadowed by the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, at the “Stop the Steal” event held in DC just prior to the riot, when he warned the Republican establishment: “This gathering should send a message to them; this isn’t their Republican Party anymore, this is Donald Trump’s Republican Party.”

While these internal tensions are widely expected to mean a majority of GOP senators will vote for the former president’s acquittal in the name of unity, the House Democrats presenting the base for the prosecution insisted in a pre-trial briefing on Monday: “The evidence of President Trump’s conduct is overwhelming.

“He has no valid excuse or defence for his actions. And his efforts to escape accountability are entirely unavailing.”

Former GOP senator for Arizona Jeff Flake joined them on Tuesday morning in calling on his ex-colleagues to vote according to the evidence and their own consciences, urging them to ask themselves how they would like to be remembered by history and in the eyes of their grandchildren.