- Bill Barr said Trump is "his own worst enemy" and called him "incorrigible" on Bari Weiss' podcast.
- "He doesn't take advice from people and he does his own thing," Barr said of Trump.
- Barr said Trump is "morally responsible" for January 6, but shouldn't have been impeached.
Former Attorney General Bill Barr in an interview with writer and journalist Bari Weiss called former President Donald Trump "incorrigible" and described him as "his own worst enemy."
"The left has lost their mind over Trump — Trump derangement syndrome is a real thing — but Trump is his own worst enemy and has provoked a lot of the venom," Barr, who served as attorney general under Trump for nearly two years, said in an interview on Weiss' podcast, "Honestly With Bari Weiss," recounting his decision to serve under Trump.
"In fact, he's incorrigible," Barr continued. "He doesn't take advice from people and he does his own thing, and you're not going to teach an old dog new tricks. So I was under no illusion when I went in, but I felt there was a chance he would rally to the office and be more disciplined in his behavior."
Despite Barr's initial hesitations, he ultimately accepted the job to succeed Jeff Sessions as attorney general because, he said, "he ran out of people to throw" between himself and Trump and thought he could "help stabilize things" at the Department of Justice, which he previously led under then-President George H.W. Bush's administration.
Barr recalled warning Trump at the beginning of 2020 that he would lose the election if he didn't "adjust" his behavior. But, Barr said, Trump "continued to be self-indulgent and petty, and turned off key constituents that made the difference in the election."
Despite his reservations over Trump's behavior, Barr still supported much of his policy agenda. But Barr's breaking point came in December 2020 over Trump's brazen efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Barr, who left the DOJ at the end of 2020, told Weiss that he was "disgusted," "mortified," and "angry" while watching the January 6 insurrection unfold at the Capitol, calling it "a riot that got out of control."
Barr said he believes Trump is "morally responsible" for telling his supporters "there was something they could do" on Capitol Hill to reverse the outcome of the 2020 election. Still, he disagrees with the House of Representatives' February 2021 decision to impeach Trump for inciting the attack.
"Someone asked me if I would have voted for impeachment and I said no, I don't think impeaching people after they're out of office is a proper use of the impeachment power. I think it's better for the country to move on," Barr said.
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