Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson warned MSNBC anchor and former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Monday evening that former President Donald Trump is fully aware of the violence he is encouraging with his words — and will continue stoking it if he keeps getting the chance.
"I wanted to talk to you about Trump's words," said Psaki. "That was essentially their argument. Jan. 6 was a clear example of people following — does he recognize the impact of his word?"
"Yes, I absolutely believe that he knows the impact of his words," said Hutchinson, who captivated much of America with her Jan. 6 testimony last year. "I think that is evident from just how he has been able to get away with how often he has tweeted and the rhetoric of his tweets. Trump knows the impact his words have. He knew he would put out the tweet on Dec. 19th, 2020, when he summoned the mob to come to Washington, D.C. that he was going to expect a crowd. That is why he continued pushing and pushing and pushing that rhetoric and pushing those invitations to all of his supporters that ended up coming to Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6th."
"So, when Donald Trump says something, I think that we as a nation do a big disservice to our own constituents and our neighbors when we don't take what he says at face value," Hutchinson added.
"There are a number of you who have spoken out," continued Psaki later in the segment. "Are you talking together? ... How do you engage about what you are going to do to prevent him from becoming president again?"
"No, I think at least in my position, I haven't been very involved in with — to my knowledge, at least, there is not an organized effort, although I would love there to be one," said Hutchinson. "But also, I think like on a larger scale, this isn't just a Republican Party issue. I think right now it is so important for Democrats and for Republicans to come together, to bring light to this issue."
She made it clear that she doesn't see it as being about political parties.
"I hope that there is a day where I can sit at this table and we can talk policy and have a productive policy conversation. Because I'm sure that we would be able to hopefully have a very productive conversation on that," she continued. "But this next election we're looking at a ballot where we are fighting for our democracy where the candidate we are voting for, Americans have to vote for, is either going to be able to sustain our democracy or is going to let it die."
She also warned that she fears if Trump wins the 2024 election, "I don't think we'll be voting under the same Constitution as if Joe Biden were elected in 2024."
Watch the video below or at the link here.
Cassidy Hutchinson www.youtube.com
