Daily Beast: “Former President Donald Trump has spent the last few weeks full of regret about Jan. 6 – but not because of the riot he inspired. Instead, Trump has complained that he should have ordered the White House flag flown at half-staff for Ashli Babbitt, the U.S. Capitol rioter and QAnon believer who was fatally shot while attempting to break into a refuge for lawmakers fleeing a pro-Trump mob, according to a person with direct knowledge and another source familiar with the matter. As recently as in the past two weeks, Trump had mentioned that one reason Babbitt, an Air Force veteran, deserved such an honor was because of her nearly decade-and-a-half service in the military, the source with direct knowledge recalled.”
“Four days after the insurrection, Trump eventually did order the flag at the White House and other federal buildings lowered, in honor of Capitol Police officers who died after the riot, but only after pressure from lawmakers and other politicians. Trump’s private comments mark the latest of his attempts to rewrite the history of Jan. 6, casting Babbitt in the role of a martyr unjustly slain by a rogue police officer – rather than the rioter captured on video trying to breach a secure area of the Capitol at the head of a mob. A spokeswoman for Trump didn’t provide comment for this story on Wednesday. Babbitt, 35, was shot and killed by an officer on Capitol Hill as she and other MAGA devotees attempted to break into the Speaker’s Lobby. A day before the riot, Babbitt tweeted that Jan. 6 would mark ‘the Storm’ – the long-awaited day QAnon supporters imagined Trump would arrest or execute his political enemies and impose a fascist dictatorship.”