Bush DHS Sec. Chertoff: Trump Threw Matches on ‘Gasoline-Soaked Rags’ and Then Acted ‘Astonished When It All Blows Up’

Michael Chertoff, who served as Secretary of Homeland Security under the George W. Bush administration, knocked President Donald Trump on CNN Friday for acting “astonished” at the fire he started.

Chertoff told Brianna Keilar the Capitol Police were “woefully unprepared” and that while individual officers acted commendably, “in terms of having the accurate resources as well as the kind of fencing and barriers you would normally want to have, they didn’t have that erected.”

Keilar brought up a disturbing new detail in a report about the timeline surrounding the pro-Trump mob storming the Capitol and Vice President Mike Pence being evacuated.

“It’s pretty obvious now we were dealing with an insurrection. There were people involved who had seditious intent. They wanted to overthrow the government process. They potentially wanted to kidnap and hold hostages or even kill lawmakers, and that was evident when I saw the individual with the zip ties,” Chertoff said. “We came very close to what would have been a lot of mayhem and death on the floor of the Congress.”

When Keilar asked whether the president himself should be criminally charged, Chertoff pointed to statements from the U.S. attorney in DC before adding this:

“I think when you look at what Donald Trump did, not just on the day in question, but in the weeks leading before, he basically lit matches and threw it on a pile of gasoline-soaked rags and then he professes to be astonished when it all blows up in a giant fire. You’ve got to look in context at all the things he did and said… and then they’re going to have to make a judgment.”

You can watch above, via CNN.