The former aide to Donald Trump in the White House who turned out to be a key witness in the attack on January 6 believes the Republican party is at a “make-or-break moment” on whether to nominate him for president in 2024.
In an interview with MSNBC’s Rachael Maddow on Monday, Cassidy Hutchinson said of Trump, “We’re talking about a man who at the very core of his being almost demolished democracy in one day, and he still wants to do it again.” Hutchinson was clearly referring to the attack on the US Capitol that the ex-president’s supporters staged after his election loss to his Democratic challenge Joe Biden nearly three years ago.
“He wants to do it again by running for president.”
Hutchinson added: “He has been accused four times since January 6.” Hutchinson was alluding to the more than 90 counts that are now being brought against Trump in four different criminal indictments. If I were a Republican who voted for Donald Trump, I would not be able to rest easy at night and have a clear conscience. And if they’re not willing to part ways with that, I believe we’re in big trouble.
In a separate but significant section of her conversation with Maddow, Hutchinson addressed and categorically denied reports that she had dated Matt Gaetz, the far-right Republican US politician from Florida who helped spread the claims himself.
Hutchinson, who went on Maddow’s show to promote her novel Enough, which hits bookstores on Tuesday, said, “I will say on behalf of myself – I never dated Matt Gaetz.” She continued, “I have much higher standards in men,” even if they had an “amicable working relationship” and “were good friends at times.”
These comments appear to be a continuation of Gaetz’s cameo in Enough, in which the congressman is seen surprisingly accepting Hutchinson’s invitation to go out for drinks one night with other Washington, DC, political aides. According to Enough, Gaetz asks Hutchinson later that night: “Has anyone ever told you that you’re a national treasure?” while running his thumb across her chin.
Hutchinson reaffirmed that she still saw herself as a Republican despite the prominence of guys in her party like Trump and Gaetz, however more in the vein of late president Ronald Reagan or Senator Mitt Romney, who some now perceive as being more moderate conservatives.
Hutchinson declared, “I don’t think Mr. Trump is a strong Republican.” “In this election cycle, it’s a make-or-break time for the Republican party, in my opinion. If these politicians [inside the party] want to make a change and take a stand, they must do so right away.
During actual congressional proceedings that took place in the summer of 2022, Hutchinson provided some of the most dramatic testimony regarding the Capitol attack. One significant incident she was informed about had Trump shoving a Secret Service agent and grabbing the wheel of the car he was riding in when he was informed he would not be taken to the Capitol on the day of the attack.
She also dealt with other hardships that day. In Enough, Hutchinson describes how Rudy Giuliani, the Trump attorney and former mayor of New York City, inappropriately touched her on January 6.
Shortly after telling his followers to “fight like hell,” Trump rallied them to launch the January 6 assault on the Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election weeks earlier.
Nine fatalities are related to the rebellion. More than 1,100 people have been accused of participating in the attack, and the bulk of them have either admitted culpability or have been found guilty after trials by judges or juries.
To every accusation brought against him, Trump has entered a not-guilty plea. The different accusations allege that he kept secret records after leaving office, paid Stormy Daniels to appear in adult films, and attempted to thwart his 2020 defeat by ordering the attack on January 6.
Trump continues to command significant polling advantages over rivals vying for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, despite the legal risk.
The 27-year-old Hutchinson’s journey from an ardent supporter of Trump to disillusionment with him is outlined in the book Enough. On January 6, 2017, she was employed by Mark Meadows, Trump’s chief of staff.