“He thought it was a way to stay in office”

• A historian of the president said Trump “enjoyed the violence” during the Jan. 6 riots.

• Michael Beschloss slammed the former president for being “hands off” during the attack.

• New footage revealed congressional leaders called for help to restore order.

A presidential historian said former President Donald Trump “enjoyed the violence” during the deadly Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot.

Michael Beschloss made the remarks during an appearance on MSNBC’s The Beat on Friday. His comments come after blockbuster footage presented to the Jan. 6 committee this week revealed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former Vice President Mike Pence and officials at the national asked security to help regulate the turbulence.

“You have Schumer and Speaker Pelosi begging the governors of Virginia and Maryland it is not even their jurisdiction to send armed forces to try to restore public safety in the United States Capitol because the President of the United States is there wouldn’t do it,” said Beschloss.

“He was in the room next to the Oval Office. He watched TV and, by most accounts, enjoyed the violence and the fact that so many people seemed to be demonstrating for him.”

Congressional leaders were quickly escorted to a safe location as pro-Trump supporters violently pushed their way through the US Capitol building.

The newly released footage shows Pelosi and Schumer have called on lawmakers in nearby states for support and reached out to White House officials to urge Trump to condemn the violence, Insider reported. At one point, the video shows Pelosi speaking to then-Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam about deploying the state’s National Guard.

“Oh my God. They just break windows,” Pelosi said on the call with Northam while watching the riots on TV. “They said someone had been shot. It’s just appalling. And all at the instigation of the President of the United States.”

The story goes on

During the interview on MSNBC, Beschl underscored the danger the officers faced during the attack, adding that “they were only minutes away from being killed.” He said no other president would have “hands off” like Trump if riots had broken out during his tenure.

“Donald Trump is the only President in the history of the United States who, if this had happened, would have been so relaxed and perfectly fine as to allow for the threat of an impending assassination and hostage situation,” Beschl continued. “He didn’t do it because he didn’t want those things to happen. He did it because he wanted violence, because he thought it was a way to stay in office.”

Read the original article on Business Insider