But the one-two punch of the congressional investigation into the unrest on Capitol Hill and the seismic impact of Roe v. Wade is raising new doubts about Trump’s powers of persuasion. “Trump is unfit to be anywhere near power again,” the editorial board of the right-wing weekly Washington Examiner, a publication long revered by the former president, wrote this week after Tuesday’s surprise committee hearing. of January 6. The hearing was called at the last minute to present the revelations of former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who described in shocking – if not startling – detail Trump’s mental state during the days and hours of his ill-fated presidency. That hearing “confirmed a damning portrayal of Trump as erratic, disengaged and utterly uncaring of his sworn duty to effect a peaceful transition of presidential power,” the article continued. Story continues below ad “Republicans have much better options to lead the party in 2024. No one should think otherwise, let alone support him ever again.”
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Hutchinson, special assistant to the president and chief of staff Mark Meadows, told the committee that Trump seemed desperate to join his supporters on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, unfazed by the fact that many of them were armed — “it’s not here to hurt me,” she heard him say. He described hearing from officials that Trump had ordered the Secret Service to take him to the Capitol and that he ran for the wheel of the presidential SUV, even the neck of a member of his security, when those orders were refused. And he recounted how White House counsel Pat Cipollone tried desperately to get the president to resign, only to be told by Meadows that Trump seemed unconcerned about the imminent danger facing his vice president, Mike Pence. “Mark had responded something like, ‘Did you hear him, Pat. He thinks Mike deserves it,” Hutchinson testified. 2:17 ‘I am the president of the capitol’: Former aide testifies that Trump demanded to participate in the siege of the US Capitol ‘I am the president of the capitol’: Former aide testifies that Trump demanded to participate in the siege of the US Capitol The select committee issued a subpoena late Wednesday for Cipollone, a longtime Trump loyalist whose calls to Meadows and others that day included a warning that “we will be charged with every crime imaginable” if the president dared at the capitol. Trending Stories
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Story continues below ad It was another installment of an investigation that has eschewed the staid, procedural approach to congressional hearings in favor of a carefully measured, serialized storytelling style that has made must-see television out of all five hearings to date. “They did a very good job of presenting things,” said Paul Beck, a political science professor at Ohio State University, noting that the absence of Trump-loyal Republicans on the committee allowed a more streamlined narrative to unfold. Hutchinson, he said, “has no interest to serve in being honest and has done a good job of distinguishing between things she saw firsthand and knew and things she had heard.”
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Trump, predictably, sought to discredit Hutchinson’s story, describing it as “lies” and “made up stories” and Hutchinson herself as a “fake social climber.” Whether it will affect his near-confirmed plan to run for president in 2024 is another matter, Beck said. “I think there’s some indication of that, although it’s very slight – there’s been some movement in the polls,” he said. Supporters “are still pretty steadfast in their support for him. I think there’s reason to believe that, you know, that support is eroding. But has it eroded enough? We will have to wait and see.” Story continues below ad The most immediate concern for both Republicans and Democrats is abortion and the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe, a foundational precedent for courts in the US and around the world, and a star for reproductive rights advocates since 1973. Trump, who gave the court the conservative majority needed for last week’s ruling, posted on his Truth Social platform celebrating the decision as “the biggest VICTORY for LIFE in a generation.” But the New York Times reported that privately, he fears it could be “bad for Republicans” in the long run. President Joe Biden seems to agree: Asked Thursday during a press conference in Madrid about the deep-seated pessimism among US voters, he couldn’t bring it up fast enough. “The only thing that has been destabilizing is the outrageous behavior of the United States Supreme Court in overruling not only Roe v. Wade, but essentially challenging the right to privacy,” Biden said. “If the poll data is correct and you believe this court decision was outrageous or a significant mistake, please vote. Show up and vote.” 2:24 USA Capitol siege hearings focus on Trump’s 2020 lobbying campaign Capitol siege hearings focus on Trump’s 2020 lobbying campaign – June 21, 2022 Polls show a majority of Americans believe the Supreme Court went too far with a ruling that Biden called a threat to other privacy-based freedoms, such as same-sex marriage and contraception — just what the doctor ordered for Democrats trying to save the furniture amid a difficult midterm season. Story continues below ad Whether Biden, who remains defiant about his plans to run again, will face his old foe or a new face in 2024 remains to be seen, Beck said. “There’s a sense that a lot of (Republicans) like what Trump has done, but not necessarily what they’ve done,” Beck said. “There is support for Trump no matter how obscene his activities are, for policy reasons. Can any other Republican get that kind of support? Probably? but we still have to realize that we are two years away from a presidential campaign and a lot can happen in that time.” © 2022 The Canadian Press
