“It was a dereliction of duty as commander-in-chief and I think he will be mortally wounded from a political career going forward,” one former White House official who worked for Trump said on Thursday. “He has blood on his hands from yesterday. A woman died.”
Trump supporters broke into the Capitol, pushed past police, and roamed through the building, forcing lawmakers and Vice President Mike Pence to evacuate. One woman died after being shot by police; three other individuals died of medical emergencies.
“There’s no recovering from what happened. It was sedition. I don’t see how there’s a future,” said another former administration official, referring to Trump and his top aides. “I think the Cabinet members that stayed and that aren’t speaking out now or even quietly resigning have a stain forever.”
The former administration official singled out Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a Trump acolyte who may have presidential ambitions, for not doing more to condemn what happened. Pompeo issued a tweet in which he called the violence “unacceptable.” The State Department declined to comment further.
