Trump 'gleefully' watched the Capitol riot from White House dining room, ex-Trump aide alleges

Former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham alleged Thursday that not only did former President Donald Trump fail to quickly and adequately condemn last year's attack on the Capitol as it happened, he quite happily watched the situation unfold from the safety of the White House.

When asked by CNN's John Berman who else pleaded with Trump to stop the uprising, Grisham responded that, outside of the former first lady (who did not say anything, leading to Grisham's resignation), she was unaware.

"All I know about that day is that [Trump] was in the dining room, gleefully watching on his TV, as he often did, 'Look at all of the people fighting for me,' hitting rewind, watching it again," Grisham replied. "That's what I know."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Grisham also revealed how a group of about 15 ex-Trump officials, including her, are planning to meet in the coming weeks to strategize ways to stop the former president and show those in the country that still believe in him "who he really is."

"You can still be proud of his policies, you can still be behind a lot of the 'America First' policies that he implemented, which I am, but it doesn't have to be him," Grisham told New Day. "It just doesn't have to be this man who caused such chaos and destruction in the country."