Hours after then-President Donald Trump incited a MAGA mob to attack the U.S. Capitol, Trump’s former campaign manager Brad Parscale exchanged texts with Katrina Pierson expressing remorse. The text exchange was revealed as evidence in Tuesday’s hearing by the Jan. 6 House select committee. Writing that the Capitol riot was about Trump “pushing for uncertainty,” Parscale, who left Trump’s campaign before the 2020 election, added that a sitting president was “asking for civil war” and he felt “guilty for helping him win.” Former Trump flack Pierson, meanwhile, assured Parscale that he “did what you felt right at the time,” prompting the ex-campaign chief to retort: “yeah, but a woman is dead,” referencing Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt. After Pierson wrote that “you do realize this was going to happen,” Parscale responded that “if I was trump and knew my rhetoric killed someone,” only for the Trump flack to insist that “it wasn’t the rhetoric.” Parscale, however, shot back: “Katrina. Yes it was.” Parscale’s guilt lasted only so long, however: His political strategy firm has been paid $150,000 by Trump’s leadership PAC since that text exchange.
