William Barr hits back at Trump's 'childish' letter: 'He immediately throws a tantrum and attacks'

• Former Attorney General William Barr hit back at Trump after the former president criticized him.
• Trump called Barr "slow" and "a big disappointment" in a recent letter to NBC News' Lester Holt.

Former Attorney General William Barr on Monday responded to former President Donald Trump's recent comments saying Barr was "slow" and "a big disappointment."

"It's par for the course. The president is a man who, when he's told something he doesn't want to hear, he immediately throws a tantrum and attacks the person personally," Barr said during an interview with NBC's "Today" host Savannah Guthrie.

Trump blasted Barr in a letter Wednesday sent to NBC News' Lester Holt, who recently interviewed the former attorney general ahead of the release of his new book, "One Damn Thing After Another: Memoirs of an Attorney General," which comes out Tuesday.

In the three-page letter first obtained by Axios, Trump repeatedly insulted Barr over issues he handled as attorney general, including his dismissal of Trump's baseless claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.

"Bill Barr was a big disappointment to me as Attorney General, he was afraid to act, and usually didn't," Trump wrote.

"I would imagine that if the book is anything like him, it will be long, slow, and very boring," he added.

Barr responded to the letter on Monday, telling Guthrie he thought it was "childish."

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Barr has distanced himself from Trump since his resignation as attorney general on December 14, 2020. In the wake of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, Barr condemned Trump's actions as a "betrayal of his office and supporters."

As the former president teases the possibility of a 2024 presidential run, Barr has urged the Republican Party to move past Trump and deemed him unfit to serve.

Still, Barr told Guthrie on Monday that he'd still likely vote for Trump if he were to emerge as the 2024 Republican presidential nominee.

"I certainly have made it clear. I don't think he should be our nominee, and I'm going to support somebody else for the nomination," Barr said.

"But if he is the nominee, and your choice is Donald Trump and whoever's voting on the Democratic side, would you vote for him?" Guthrie asked.

"Because I believe that the greatest threat to the country is the progressive agenda being pushed by the Democratic Party, it's inconceivable to me that I wouldn't vote for the Republican nominee," Barr said.