Trump in a ‘really good mood’ while watching impeachment trial

Former president watched second day of his Senate impeachment trial from his home in Florida

Former President Donald Trump was reportedly in a “really good mood” during the second day of his impeachment trial, as shocking footage from the Capitol riots was shown.

A pro-Trump mob breached the Capitol on 6 January, causing House members to barricade themselves inside offices to hide from the rioters.

Five people died and several more were injured in the insurrection. A week later, and a week before leaving office, Mr Trump was impeached by the House for the second time for inciting the riots at a “Save America” rally nearby.

House impeachment managers showed never-before-seen footage from the siege at the Capitol during Mr Trump's impeachment trial on Wednesday, showing lawmakers being evacuated away from the pro-Trump mob that had breached the building.

Read more: Follow live Trump impeachment updates

Lead impeachment manager Jamie Raskin of Maryland even fought through tears as he shared his experience in Congress on the day of the event, as several senators were shown to be visibly emotional throughout the day.

However, sources told The Daily Beast on Wednesday that Mr Trump was unmoved by the footage while watching the trial from his home in Florida.

Jason Miller, a former senior advisor to Mr Trump, added that Mr Trump was in a “really good mood” as he watched the trial on TV.

Mr Miller also claimed that the former president thought the presentations were “terrible” and marked a “massive drop-off in quality,” during the proceedings.

Another source with knowledge of the situation told The Daily Beast that Mr Trump privately said that the videos shown of the riots were manipulative and were being used to divide the country.

They added that Mr Trump sneered when the new footage was shown and called Eric Swalwell of California, one of the lead impeachment managers, “pathetic”.

CNN also reported on Wednesday that when asked if the former president has shown remorse for the riots, a source close to Mr Trump laughed and said there is no greater offence to him than saying “sorry”.

Another adviser told CNN that Mr Trump wanted to see a show of force from his supporters at the “Save America” rally on 6 January.

“Trump likes force. He saw people forcefully fighting for him,” the adviser claimed, while a former senior White House official added that Mr Trump was “loving” watching the mob on that day.

The former president has still not publicly shown remorse for the Capitol riots or condemned the violence that was carried out by some of his supporters.

At the rally, Mr Trump urged the crowd to “walk down to the Capitol” and added: “You have to show strength, and you have to be strong,” while falsely indicating that he would be joining them.

Of the more than 200 rioters arrested in the weeks since the siege, at least 15 individuals who stormed the Capitol have claimed that they did so based on encouragement from Mr Trump, according to ABC News.

One of those 15 rioters, Jacob Chansely, also known as the QAnon Shaman, has revealed that he is willing to testify against Mr Trump at his impeachment trial about how his words at the rally resonated with him.

“He heard the words of the president. He believed them. He genuinely believed him,” Mr Chansley's lawyer, Al Watkins, told ABC. “He thought the president was walking with him,” he added.

Mr Trump’s Senate impeachment trial began on 9 February, with it expected to continue for around a couple of weeks. If he is convicted, then Mr Trump could be barred from running for office again.