Donald Trump's former US Attorney General Bill Barr suggested Trump talked about executing people on several occasions: 'The president would lose his temper and say things like that…'
Donald Trump had said multiple times during his tenure at the White House that he wanted to execute people who angered him, former Attorney General Bill Barr has suggested.
It comes as the former President and presumptive Republican nominee for the upcoming November presidential election facing a criminal trial for hush money payments aimed to kill news stories that could have harmed his 2016 campaign.
Bill Barr served as the US attorney general in the Trump administration from 2019 to 2020. Ahead of the upcoming election, Barr has not ruled out voting for Trump again, but has previously referred to him as "a consummate narcissist" who "constantly engages in reckless conduct that puts his political followers at risk and the conservative and Republican agenda at risk."
In a recent interview, Barr was asked about claims that Trump wanted to have anyone who angered him executed. Alyssa Farah, Trump's former director of communications, had previously described such an incident.
Ms Farah said: "Right before I resigned, I was in an Oval Office meeting with a dozen other staffers, and somebody had, he thinks, leaked a story about him going to the bunker during the George Floyd protests. And he said, 'Whoever did that should be executed!'"
Asked whether he remembers the incident, Barr told CNN: "I remember [Trump] being really mad about that. I actually don't remember him saying 'executing' but I wouldn't dispute it. It doesn't sound... I mean - the President would lose his temper and say things like that. I doubt he'd actually carried it out."
Asked whether Trump said similar things on other occasions, Barr said: "I think people sometimes took him too literally. He would say things similar to that on occasions to blow off steam, but I wouldn't take him literally every time he did it. At the end of the day it wouldn't be carried out."
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Former officials from the Trump administration who witnessed Trump's conduct in office have warned against his return to power offering dire predictions for the country and the rule of law if his campaign succeeds.
Mark Esper, the former Defense Secretary, and John Bolton, the former national security adviser, have emerged as vocal critics, branding Trump as a threat to democracy and unfit for office, respectively. Mike Pence, who served as Trump's vice president, notably refrains from endorsing him, citing significant differences in their views.
Sarah Matthews, a former Trump aide and witness before the House January 6 committee, emphasized the weight of these criticisms, particularly coming from individuals who had direct exposure to Trump's leadership style and decision-making processes. Other notable critics include Olivia Troye, a former adviser to Mike Pence, and Stephanie Grisham, former White House press secretary.
Figures like Mark Esper and Mike Pence, who had once been key figures in Trump's administration, have openly criticized his actions and leadership style. John Kelly, Trump's former chief of staff, went as far as describing Trump as someone who admires autocrats and has contempt for democratic institutions.