Stephanie Grisham says Trump was 'gleefully watching' the January 6 riot on TV and 'hitting rewind'

• Stephanie Grisham said that Trump was "gleefully watching" the January 6 insurrection on television.
• Her comments come on the first anniversary of January 6.

Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said on Thursday that former President Donald Trump "gleefully" watched his supporters violently storm the Capitol on January 6.

"All I know about that day was that he was in the dining room, gleefully watching on his TV as he often did, 'look at all of the people fighting for me,' hitting rewind, watching it again — that's what I know," Grisham told CNN's "New Day."

The remarks come on the first anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, which resulted in five deaths. President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and members of Congress are commemorating the day with speeches, a prayer vigil, and other events at the Capitol.

Grisham's comments echo reporting in multiple news outlets and books last year that said Trump had watched the riot unfold on television and resisted taking swift action to call on his supporters to stop the violence.

"He is in the dining room, off the Oval Office, watching it and almost giddy," Washington Post reporter Carol Leonnig, co-author of the book "I Alone Can Fix It," said in a CNN interview last year.

The House select committee investigating January 6 revealed last week that it has first-hand testimony detailing how Trump sat in the White House dining room and watched the riot on TV.

Grisham met with the January 6 committee on Wednesday evening, though details of the meeting have not been released.

Grisham first served on Trump's 2016 presidential campaign before landing different roles in his administration. She was former first lady Melania Trump's press secretary, then moved on to become White House press secretary and communications director. She left that post in April 2020 and returned to work for Melania Trump as chief of staff until her resignation last year in the wake of the Capitol attack.

Since leaving the White House, Grisham has been openly critical of Trump and his administration. Trump has repeatedly downplayed the January 6 riot and has taken no responsibility for the day's violence.