New details of fiery response to Trump's jibe during US riots call
New details of a phone call involving Donald Trump where he reportedly got into a war of words with a senior Republican have emerged as the former US president faces impeachment for allegedly inciting the US Capitol riots.
During the fiery call as his supporters were wreaking havoc on the Capitol, Trump sparked a shouting match with House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy after an inflammatory comment, CNN reported.
"Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are," Trump said, according to politicians who were told details of the call by McCarthy.
McCarthy reportedly called Trump to urge him to send his supporters home, but became enraged following the former president's provocative statement.
"Who the f*** do you think you are talking to?" McCarthy hit back at Trump, a Republican politician familiar with the call said.
Details of the call have provided new insight into Trump's state of mind as the Capitol became overrun by his supporters in a traumatic event that killed five people.
"You have to look at what he did during the insurrection to confirm where his mind was at... That line right there demonstrates to me that either he didn't care, which is impeachable, because you cannot allow an attack on your soil, or he wanted it to happen and was okay with it, which makes me so angry," Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Republican representative from Washington state, told CNN.
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Trump made no attempt to settle his supporters until several hours after the attack began, eventually telling them to "go home in peace" – reportedly at the strong request of his aides.
The former president has still yet to declare any responsibility publicly for what unfolded.
Crucial insight into the timing of a phone call on the afternoon of the riot also emerged this week, suggesting he knew former vice president Mike Pence was in danger when he posted a tweet attacking him.
Alabama's Tommy Tuberville told reporters he shared a phone call with the former president just after 2pm on the day of the January 6 riot in which he told Pence had just been evacuated from the chamber.
“I said, 'Mr President, they just took the vice president out, I've got to go',” Tuberville told Politico.
The time stamp revealed by Tuberville suggested Trump was aware Pence was in danger before he sent a tweet attacking him at 2.24pm (local time).
“Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!” Trump’s tweet read.
By 2.30pm, the whole senate had been cleared as hundreds of angry Trump supporters wreaked havoc.
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