Final Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol/Chapter 7/Section 7.13
7.13 HE "JUST DIDN'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT ANYMORE"
The President did not, by any account, express grief or regret for what happened at the Capitol. Neither did he appear to grasp the gravity of what he had set in motion.
In his last phone call of the night, the President spoke with Johnny McEntee, his Director of Personnel.[328]
"[T]his is a crazy day," the President told him. McEntee said his tone was one of "[l]ike, wow, can you believe this shit . . .?"[329]
Did he express sadness over the violence visited upon the Capitol?
"No," McEntee said. "I mean, I think he was shocked by, you know, it getting a little out of control, but I don't remember sadness, specifically."[330]
President Trump didn't make any other phone calls for the rest of the night.[331] The President didn't call Vice President Pence. In fact, President Trump never called to check on his Vice President's safety that day. He didn't call the heads of any of the Federal law enforcement agencies. He didn't call the leadership—neither Republican nor Democrat—of the legislative branch of government that had just been overrun by a mob.[332]
Only two days after the riot, by January 8th, the President was over the whole thing.
He "just didn't want to talk about it anymore," he told his press aides. "[H]e was tired of talking about it."[333]
Ivanka Trump claimed to the Select Committee that her father was "disappointed and surprised" by the attack, but she could not name a specific instance of him expressly saying it.
"He—I just felt that," she said. "I know him really well."[334]
Here's what she could definitively say:
Committee Staff: Has he ever expressed to you any sentiment that he did or did not do the right thing in how he responded on the day of the 6th?
Ms. Trump: No.
Committee Staff: Has he ever expressed any sentiment about something that he wished he had done on the day of the 6th?
Ms. Trump: No.
Committee Staff: Has he ever said anything to you about the people who were injured or who died that day?
Ms. Trump: No.
Committee Staff: Has he ever said anything to you about whether he should or should not continue to talk about the 2020 Presidential election after the events on the 6th?
Ms. Trump: No.[335]