Three ex-Trump administration officials, who openly criticized the former president following the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, issued a joint warning in a recent interview.
Former White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah Griffin, ex-White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews, and former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson spoke with ABC News’s Jonathan Karl.
They discussed their cooperation with the Jan. 6 select committee and expressed concerns about the potential threat to democracy if the former president is reelected for a second term.
“This is a fundamental election to continue to safeguard our institutions and our constitutional republic,” Hutchinson stated. “But if we crumble as a nation, we’re setting an example that democracy is an experiment.”
In essence, Griffin stated, “a second Trump term could mean the end of American democracy as we know it.” The American people have seen Trump attempt to “steal a democratic election,” Griffin added.
“That just shows he’s willing to break every barrier to get into power and stay in power,” she said.
Matthews observed that Trump’s determination to regain power has intensified, and his language has become more unpredictable. This is evident in his threats to undermine certain aspects of the Constitution, manipulate the Justice Department, and seek retaliation against his political adversaries.
“To this day he still doubles down on the fact that he thinks that the election was stolen and fraudulent,” Matthews stated.
Hutchinson, who provided compelling testimony to the House panel probing the events of January 6, highlighted a recent town hall interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News. In the interview, Trump did not outright dismiss the reports suggesting that he might assume dictatorial powers if he regains office.
During the conversation with Hannity, Trump stated that he would consider acting as a dictator only on “day one” to secure the border and pursue energy resource exploration.
“The fact that he felt that he needs to lean into being a dictator alone shows that he is a weak and feeble man who has no sense of character and integrity and has no sense of leadership,” Hutchinson stated.
All three women emphasized the importance of concentrating on preventing Trump from returning to office.
Matthews expressed reservations about the options available in a forthcoming presidential election that is expected to feature Trump as the GOP candidate and President Biden as the Democratic candidate. However, she hinted that she would support Biden.
Although Matthews stated that she is still hopeful that a different Republican would win the primaries, she added, “I’ve never voted for a Democrat in my life, but I think that in this next election, I would put policy aside and choose democracy.”
“Our singular focus needs to be, if he is the nominee, on making sure that he is not elected the president again next November,” Hutchinson said.
Griffin and Matthews highlighted the credit they believe Hutchinson deserves for speaking out relatively late in the aftermath of January 6, 2021, and quite early in her career. Both expressed their hope that more senior officials would follow suit and speak out.
“For some reason, in moments that call for it, women tend to show an astonishing amount of courage, and I credit these women who are younger than me, had not as senior of titles, and stepped forward,” Griffin said.
“I think that there are a lot of people who saw some dangerous things, but they’ve made the calculation that he very well may be president again,” Griffin continued. “They not only don’t want to be on his bad side, they also want to preserve themselves for future opportunities with him.”
Nevertheless, Griffin claimed that those who have worked in the West Wing “know how dangerous” Trump is, particularly Mike Pence, the former vice president, who has seen more than anybody.
As incidents of political violence and death threats against public officials increase, the three women emphasized the difficulty many encounter when deciding whether to voice their opinions. Numerous individuals worry about the potential harm to their families, a concern shared by many who have openly opposed Trump.
“A lot of these people won’t come forward even if privately they’ll acknowledge that Trump is unfit or will privately acknowledge that the 2020 election wasn’t stolen,” Matthews said. “It’s because they know that they will face death threats, that their families will face death threats.”
According to ABC’s report, Trump reacted to the prerecorded interview by referring to the three women as “ungrateful grifters.” He accused them of taking jobs for their own benefit and likened their actions to betraying, saying they’ve gone “full Judas.”
