Adviser Trump, who was in a group text chat with several other Trump aides and allies during the hearing, said “no one takes this lightly.” “For the first time since the hearings began, no one rejects it,” he said. Another Trump ally told CNN that the testimony of Hutchinson, a former top aide to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, would seal Mendowe’s fate as a “persona non grata” for the former president. “It simply came to our notice then [Trump] is furious with the Meadows. “It was already frozen, but now it will be persona non grata,” said the man. The shocking revelations from Hutchinson’s testimony about Trump’s unstable behavior and state of mind on Jan. 6 could make it easier for Republican presidential candidates to challenge the former president in a by-election if he is a candidate, he added. “This is essentially an advertising campaign for (Florida Gov.) Ron DeSantis in 2024,” said Trump ally.

Trump claims he hardly knows Hutchinson

Trump, as he often does with aides and allies with whom he was once close but later turned against him, claimed on Tuesday that “he knew almost nothing[s]Hutchinson personally rejected a request to join his staff after taking over the presidency in Mar-a-Lago. “When she asked to go with some others on my team to Florida after serving a full term, I personally turned down her request,” Trump told Truth Social during Hutchinson’s live testimony. Trump attempted to testify to Hutchinson on Tuesday, saying she was “very upset and angry that I did not want her” at his Palm Beach home. The former president’s attempt to distance himself from Hutchinson, whom he described as “bad news” on Tuesday, came after the committee showed West Wing performance to show how close he was to the Oval Office as a helper to Meadows. Many former White House aides also publicly supported Hutsinson’s proximity to Trump and his chief of staff before and during her appearance Tuesday. “Anyone who downplayes Cassidy Hutchinson’s role or her access to the West Wing does not understand how Trump [White House] “They worked or tried to discredit it because they feared how condemnatory this testimony was,” Sarah Matthews, a former White House spokeswoman, wrote on Twitter. In response, a former White House aide said: “Everyone high up in the WH knew her. And even if Trump did not know her name, he certainly knew her. She traveled to AF1 with Mark on every trip.” In addition, this former aide said that while Tuesday’s testimony was insane, it is also 100% credible, given what this person knew after working for the White House. The most shocking episode for some aides so far was when Hutchinson recounted a second-hand incident in which Trump allegedly tried to steer the wheel of the presidential car to drive to the Capitol on Jan. 6. Following the testimony, a Secret Service official familiar with the matter told CNN that Tony Ornato, then White House Deputy Chief of Staff, denied that he had told Hutchinson that the former president had snatched the wheel or an agent in his possession.

Trump was nervous about the testimony

Trump had previously denied that he had leaked Hutsinson’s testimony, claiming on the Truth Social platform earlier this month that he “never said, nor did he even think, ‘Hang Mike Pence.’ “This is either a fabricated story by someone who wants to become a star, or fake news!” he wrote then. But a person close to Trump said he was nervous about Tuesday’s hearing, which included live testimony from Hutchinson. Ahead of the commission’s announcement Monday, the man said Trump felt triumphant amid a series of Supreme Court rulings protecting the right to conceal a weapon and ending the constitutional right to an abortion. “He certainly did not expect such a reversal,” said Trump. The former president and his allies plan to appoint Hutchinson as a junior aide who had little influence in the West Wing, despite its proximity to both the then president and then-chief of staff. Hutchinson served in the Legislature before becoming Meadows’s top aide and was an eyewitness to several key episodes that led to Jan. 6, in addition to seeing some of Trump’s reactions in real time that day.
Trump was particularly concerned about what Hutchinson might say about his state of mind and his response to the January 6 rioters, said a second person close to him.

Meadows in alarm state

Hutsinson’s proximity to the Meadows put the former White House Chief of Staff on alert before Tuesday’s hearing. Hutchinson “acted as his executive assistant,” said a man who knows their relationship and her knowledge of his daily schedule, conversations and interactions with Trump are unrivaled.
“I think the committee has kept its fire on the Meadows so far, but today will be a Meadows day,” he said. Meadows personally promoted Hutchinson from the White House Legislature to his office in the West Wing, where he said he was “given tremendous access and visibility” in his relationship with Trump and several top GOP lawmakers. A second person familiar with the matter said Hutchinson received zero support from Mendous as he was involved in the Jan. 6 commission investigation, but remained in touch with some of his other aides. Now, Meadows and his allies are worried that they might return to haunt him. They are closely monitoring Tuesday’s hearing to see what new information Hutchinson is revealing in her affidavit, a second source said, noting that Mendows is particularly concerned that her appearance could further strain his relationship with Trump. Trump has been complaining privately to allies in recent months about text messages that Mendous delivered to the House panel before he broke off, and a book written by Mendous that contained surprising new details about the seriousness of Trump’s fight with Covid. 19 also angered the former president. . This story has been updated with an additional report on Tuesday. CNN’s Josh Campbell contributed to this report.