O’Brien, deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger and deputy chief of staff Chris Liddell are considering resigning, according to sources. Pottinger’s resignation seems imminent, while others may sleep over it.
Earlier on Wednesday, O’Brien took the unusual step of defending Vice President Mike Pence, as Trump was consumed by the vice president’s refusal to carry out his orders instead of the crowd that invaded the Capitol. O’Brien said Pence showed courage when Trump criticized him.
“I just spoke to Vice President Pence. He is a genuinely good and decent man. He displayed courage today, as he did on Capitol Hill on September 11 as a congressman. I am proud to serve with him,” said O’Brien
O’Brien, Pottinger and Liddle did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The president is being criticized by his own party for its response to the day’s events, including instigating its supporters and then justifying its rebellion on the United States Capitol.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump told a crowd of supporters gathered at Ellipse, near the White House, that he planned to march with them to the Capitol building.
“We are going to walk to the Capitol. And we are going to cheer for our brave senators, congressmen and women. And we are probably not going to cheer, so much for some of them, because you never take our country back with weakness, you have to show strength and you have to be strong, “he said at his rally at Ellipse.
Finally, Trump jumped out of gear, returned to the White House in an armored SUV and crouched inside the house.
In a video posted on social media after the crowd broke into the Capitol Police and entered the country’s legislative chambers, Trump sought to sympathize with the protesters based on the lies he spread about a fraudulent election.
“I know your pain. I know you are hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us,” said Trump in the video.
“You have to go home now. We have to have peace,” said Trump, several hours after the doors of the Capitol building were breached, his own vice president was evacuated and several police offers were injured in the mob’s violence. “We must have law and order.”
Trump, who last year showed he was eager to send the National Guard when violence broke out in other U.S. cities, initially resisted doing so on Capitol Hill as the crowd descended, said a person familiar with the matter.
White House officials were visibly shaken by Trump’s response to the crowd that invaded the Capitol. The president was almost enthusiastic about the protests and did not want to condemn them, several people said.
Trump agreed to record a short video only after several Republican Party officials and lawmakers pressured him to make a statement and the president offered praise and understanding for those who broke the barricades, two people added.
Then, shortly afterwards, he tweeted defending them. Several senior officials are surprised by his behavior.
This story has been updated with more information.