Frustrated Trump is watching every hearing and asking confidants when they are going to end: CNN's Kaitlan Collins
In the run-up to CNN's coverage of the Jan 6. House select committee public hearing slated for Tuesday, host Jake Tapper asked White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins how Donald Trump is reacting to the revelations so far.
As Collins explained, the former president is avidly watching every hearing and calling up friends and asking when the hearings will all come to an end.
"What are you hearing about Trump's reaction," Tapper asked.
"For president Trump he has repeatedly downplayed the significance of these hearings saying they weren't ever to amount to much," she began. "That is something you hear echoed by those who are still in his orbit. One thing that I've heard from sources is that Trump has been asking people in recent days is when these hearings going to come to an end. They have been more effective than many people in his orbit expected."
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"These are people who have been through multiple impeachment hearings, a lot of investigations, they didn't think this was going to be effective in anyway, but you have seen the compelling testimony, including people from Cassidy Hutchinson," she continued. "That has led to this question of when these hearings are going to end and when they have to stop wondering about when the next shoe to drop is going to be, Jake."
"Some people had assured Trump that they believed that this week was going be the end of this committee hearings and they thought there would be a second one on Thursday and that would be the final one," she elaborated. "But as you heard from committee members in recent days, those plans shifted they interviewed [White House counsel Pat] Cipollone and they say they want to get more information in order."
"As these hearings have gone on, Trump has been watching them and he has continued to complain about the one thing that bothers him the most, which is that none of his Republican allies are up there defending him or trying to cross-examine these witnesses," she told Tapper. 'There are two Republicans on the committee, Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and Liz Cheney (R-WY), but they are far from being Trump allies."
"It goes back to that he hates the idea that there's no one up there defending him and it is getting several hours of these televised hearings about his actions leading up to January 6th. They keep asking when they will end and that remains unclear when the final one will be. But he has been watching them closely."
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"Thank you so much," Tapper replied. "It is interesting that Donald Trump is upset that there is no one up there to defend him. There is no way to defend it. That is why you have people who are these useful idiots, who are Trump allies on Capitol Hill , who are willing to say anything until. How do you defend any of this?"
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