WATCH: Bill Barr Tells Jake Tapper That Trump’s Spittle-Flecked ‘Tantrum’ Was Not ‘Disqualifying’

Former Attorney General Bill Barr told CNN’s Jake Tapper that a spittle-flecked tantrum thrown by then-President Donald Trump  — described in Barr’s book — was “not disqualifying.”

Tapper hosted the former AG on Friday’s edition of The Lead as part of Barr’s effort to promote his book, One Damn Thing After Another. Tapper read what he called “one of the most memorable scenes in the book” and asked if such tantrums made Barr question Trump’s fitness for the presidency:

TAPPER: You write in your book — this is one of the most memorable scenes in the book — about seeing the president throw a fit. You call it a tantrum. This is the summer before the election during the protests outside the White House, in the wake of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of a white police officer.

You write — quote — “The president lost his composure, glaring around the semicircle of officials in front of his desk. He swept his index finger around the semicircle, pointing at all of us. ‘You’re all losers,’ he yelled, his face reddening. He felt we were responsible for the violence around the country, especially around the White House. ‘You’re losers,’ he yelled again, tiny flecks of spit arcing to his desktop.”

(LAUGHTER)

TAPPER: “‘F’ing losers.’ It was a tantrum. I was taken aback and indignant.”

(LAUGHTER)

TAPPER: Well, it’s a very — a very — a very well-rendered scene. I wanted to read the whole thing for you.

(LAUGHTER)

TAPPER: But this is not the only time in the book you write about the president and his temperament which, you think is — you suggest is disqualifying?

Did those outbursts ever cause you to question his fitness for office or his stability?

BARR: No. And I didn’t consider them disqualifying.

I supported his policies. I was very conscious of his personal failings, especially his pettiness and his temper when he’s not getting his way, his disposition to listen to what — want to hear what he wants to hear.

But, up until the election, I felt that, if you had strong Cabinet secretaries who were willing to do battle, you could keep things on track. And I personally felt that we did a pretty good job of that. But after the election, I — there was no — he just went off the rails. He wasn’t listening to any of his normal advisers.

He was listening to this coterie of people who were telling him that he lost the election.

Barr went on to say that Trump took a turn after the election, and that he would fight to defeat his former boss in a 2024 primary election.

Watch above via CNN.