Why Cassidy Hutchinson finally reached her 'breaking point' with Trumpworld: historian
Although Cassidy Hutchinson is still a Republican and leans conservative, the former aide to ex-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has become a major critic of former President Donald Trump. Hutchinson now views Trump as a dangerous threat to U.S. democracy, but before she became a key witness for the January 6 Select Committee, Hutchinson was a Trump supporter.
The revelations in Hutchinson's new book "Enough" are receiving a great deal of media coverage. Historian Nicole Hemmer, in an op-ed published by CNN's website on September 27, focuses on one particular aspect of the book: how Hutchinson reached her "breaking point" and finally distanced herself from Trumpworld.
"After the insurrection," Hemmer explains, "she says she was quickly pushed out of the circle. In the closing days of Trump's presidency, a period in which Meadows was reportedly burning so many documents in his office fireplace that his wife complained he smelled like a bonfire, Meadows cautioned her that both he and Trump had their doubts about her….. And while she denied speaking to the press, her usefulness was at an end."
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Hemmer adds, "In the days that followed, Trump, Meadows and (Rep. Kevin) McCarthy all stopped speaking to her."
Hutchinson, Hemmer notes, reached her "breaking point late." It was Alyssa Farah Griffin, former director of strategic communications for the Trump Administration, who put her in touch with conservative then-Rep. Liz Cheney — chosen by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) for the January 6 Select Committee.
"At their urging, and inspired by the legacy of Watergate whistleblower Alexander Butterfield, Hutchinson says 'enough,'" Hemmer writes. "And while she was pushed to that precipice by the behavior of older, more powerful people — and held on to her loyalty far longer than most readers likely would have — it was ultimately her decision to jump, an act of courage that far more people far older and more secure failed to do."
Read Nicole Hemmer's full CNN op-ed at this link.
