Mick Mulvaney: Hutchinson testimony about Trump changed my mind about defending him
Former Trump White House aide Mick Mulvaney said he'd no longer defend the former president against riot incitement charges after hearing Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony.
Former top White House aide Mick Mulvaney said Wednesday that Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony at the January 6 committee hearing this week changed his mind on defending Donald Trump against charges he'd incited a riot.
Mulvaney told "CBS Mornings" the explosive accusations from Hutchinson, who was Trump chief of staff Mark Meadow's top assistant at the time of the Capitol riot, were "compelling and very credible."
"Do you think these hearings are changing mainstream Republicans, perhaps Republicans like yourself about their attitudes regarding the former president?" CBS host Vladimir Duthiers asked.
"Sure. It certainly changed my mind, yesterday’s testimony did," Mulvaney said. "I’ve been defending the president against the charges of incitement to riot. I’ve seen the same speech he’s given dozens of times. I’ve seen him accused of trying to foment violence with no violence coming as a result, so I’ve been defending him. But after yesterday when she testified that he knew that there were guns on property and that he still encouraged people to go down to the Capitol, that certainly changes my mind. Whether or not it’s going to change the hard-core MAGA supporters on the right wing of the party, I don’t know. That remains to be seen."
Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney speaks in the White House briefing room on Oct. 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Asked if he'd vote for Trump again, Mulvaney, who was acting chief of staff and Trump's budget director during his tenure, called that a good question that's come out of the hearings. He suggested that if more Jan. 6 revelations do weaken Trump politically, people could see a surge of interest in other Republicans seeking the nomination, such as former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.
"But yes or no, sir, if he runs again, would you vote for him?" Duthiers asked.
"Oh, count me among one of the Republicans who hopes he’s not the nominee at this point," Mulvaney said.
Mulvaney resigned as the Trump administration's special envoy to Northern Ireland over the riot, along with several other officials who did so in protest. Trump was impeached by the House in 2021 on a count of inciting an insurrection, but acquitted in the U.S. Senate.
Former aide to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows Cassidy Hutchinson testifies before the House Jan. 6 Committee on June 28, 2022, as Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., questions her. (Fox News)
Mulvaney became a CBS News contributor this year, drawing fury from liberal media members. He tweeted on Tuesday that it was a "very, very bad day" for Trump and called for witnesses to come forward to either corroborate or rebut Hutchinson's claims. He has been consistently critical of Trump's rhetoric around and since the Jan. 6 riot, but he had previously stated he would "absolutely" support Trump for president again in 2024 if he ran.
Hutchinson was a surprise witness at the Jan. 6 committee this week, where she made a number of headline-making claims, including that Trump was aware people at his rally on the National Mall were armed, and he wanted to get rid of the "mags," or magnetometers, so more of his supporters could get in. She said Trump didn't heed calls by his staff to call off his supporters as they stormed the Capitol, and she said Meadows sought a pardon before Trump left office over potential concern of being implicated in criminality.
President Donald Trump speaks during a rally protesting the Electoral College certification of Joe Biden as resident on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
She claimed Trump had furious outbursts, including once throwing a dish at the wall in anger over his stolen election claims not being backed by the attorney general. She also said she heard secondhand that Trump had lunged at the steering wheel of the vehicle he was in as an effort to be driven to the Capitol the day of the riot, even having a physical altercation with a Secret Service member. Multiple reports have indicated that the Secret Service will dispute the latter claims about Trump's actions in the vehicle.
Trump denied Hutchinson's allegations in a series of 12 posts on his Truth Social networking app. The former president said she is "A Total Phony!!!" and called the January 6 Committee "a Kangaroo Court."
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Hutchinson began her career as an intern for Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., before ascending the ranks at the White House to become a trusted Meadows aide.
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