Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson said Tuesday on CNN’s “The Lead” that former President Donald Trump was the “most grave threat” to American democracy in our lifetime.
Anchor Jake Tapper said, “Donald Trump is leading in the polls when it comes to the Republican primaries. Even in some polls when it comes to a head-to-head match-up with President Biden. The other day, Trump suggested that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the outgoing Chairman Mark Milley, committed treason. He suggested that capital punishment would be on the table or should be on the table. When you see a message like that, how seriously do you take it?”
Hutchinson said, “Yeah, I do believe that he means it. Now, what I would like to say to this is I think for years we have not held Donald Trump accountable for the things that he says, and when he says those things and when he strikes — when he strokes those vitriolic comments to people who have had profound careers defending our democracy like General Milley, we need to take him seriously.”
She continued, “People have been holding him accountable for the past years, but obviously not accountable enough because we are in a position right now where it’s looking more likely than not that he could be the Republican nominee. And he has also been indicted four times. To me, it is sad that we’re in this place as a country where we are looking at somebody who has executed this horrible assault on our democracy, and we are continuing to give this person a platform.”
Hutchinson added, “That’s not what we should stand for as Americans. I think that Donald Trump is the most grave threat that we will face to our democracy in our lifetime, and potentially in American history.”
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