What – you thought Donald Trump would go off to Mar-a-Lago and only concern himself with his golf swing? That was never going to happen. And though we may not be getting the hourly glimpse into whatever is on his mind, thanks to the Twitter ban, this first substantive statement from the former president, following his meeting with the House of Representatives minority Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy, is reassuringly familiar.

But let me spool back very quickly. This is going to be the quick one-minute recap that you get on later episodes of a TV box set. McCarthy had been a cheerleader for Trump. Always supportive; always riding to his side. But then, after the storming of the Capitol on 6 January, the most senior Republican congressman went his own way and said this: “The president bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters. He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding.“(BBC)…[+]