Former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson announces why she’s voting for Kamala Harris

Former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson announced on television shows Wednesday night and Thursday morning that she would vote for Kamala Harris in November and said the country needs to focus on defeating the former president.

Hutchinson, who gave explosive testimony about Trump and his allies before the House Select Committee on January 6, explained his reasoning during an interview with Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC. “First of all, I knew for a long time that I would never vote for Donald Trump again in my life,” she said.

“I never want to try to tell someone how to vote,” said Hutchinson, who worked for Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows. “But in my experience, firstly, being close to Donald Trump, seeing his character, knowing who he is, believing him when he tells us who he is, and also who he chose as his running mate in the vice-president – ​​JD Vance. , which is a whole other conversation – it’s just a despicable representation of the Republican Party.

She added that she is “really, really proud as a conservative to have the opportunity to vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in this election,” even though there are few issues on which she imagines ‘she would agree with the vice president. president.

“We need to elect people we can trust to uphold our rule of law,” Hutchinson said. “People we want our kids to look up to and want to emulate.”

Hutchinson has previously warned of potential threats from a second Trump term, while saying she still considers herself a Republican.

“I say to Republicans who may be hesitant: I understand how scary it can be to potentially break with your party,” she said in the MSNBC interview. “I also understand that there are concerns – and very valid concerns – about inflation. But Donald Trump and JD Vance cannot be trusted with the Constitution, they cannot be trusted to enforce our authority or our law, and they cannot be trusted to enact policy. responsible.”

These issues, according to Hutchinson, are “disqualifying” among others, including the fact that Trump is facing criminal charges. Such is her opposition to the former president that she says she will even vote for Democrats in the House and Senate elections.

“I think it’s very important that we get past this period of Donald Trump so that America can begin to heal,” Hutchinson said. “And once this period is over, we hope to be able to open responsible political debates in the future. But for now, we must focus on defeating Donald Trump.”

She continued her anti-Trump crusade Thursday morning, specifically calling out her male supporters within the GOP on Morning Joe when host Mika Brzezinski asked why Republicans like Hutchinson and former Rep. Liz Cheney — who served as vice chair of the Jan. 6 Committee — seem to be rare.

“I don’t know why so many Republicans – especially men – continue to cover themselves with cowardice, especially in the face of Donald Trump and JD Vance,” Hutchinson said. “The Republican Party is something completely unrecognizable from what it once was. »

“But we have confidence in our leaders,” she continued. “Like Liz Cheney, who came forward, and Adam Kinzinger. There are still good Republicans trying to save what’s left of the party, but we need more people to step up.”