Former Attorney General Bill Barr recently explained to CNN‘s Kaitlan Collins that the media too often takes the alleged comments of former President Donald Trump too literally. During an interview last week, Collins pressed Barr on allegations made by former White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin that Trump had called for a White House staffer to be executed for leaking to the media.
“I remember him being very mad about that,” Barr recalled to Collins. He continued, noting that the former President was angry but not being serious: “I actually don’t remember him saying ‘executing’ but I wouldn’t dispute it, you know… The president would lose his temper and say things like that. I doubt he would’ve actually carried it out.”
Barr explained to Collins that Trump‘s offhanded remarks were made in an effort to blow off steam or as a bit of gallows humor. He said the media and critics often take Trump “too literally.” He reiterated, dismissing the ginned-up concerns of the corporate media: “Having worked for him and seen him in action, I don’t think he would actually go and kill political rivals and things like that.”
Earlier this month, Trump‘s former Attorney General said he’d support his one-time boss in the upcoming 2024 presidential election. Barr argued that the choice for him boils down to a “duty to pick the person I think would do the least harm to the country.” He said, “a continuation of the Biden administration is national suicide, in my opinion.”