Washington Examiner: Hutchinson testimony shows Trump should not hold office ‘ever again’

The editorial board of the Washington Examiner, a right-leaning publication read widely by supporters of former President Trump, is arguing congressional testimony given by a top White House aide this week disqualifies Trump from ever holding office again.

Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony before the select House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday “ought to ring the death knell” for Trump’s political career, the Examiner wrote in an editorial published on Wednesday.

“What Hutchinson relayed was disturbing,” the publication wrote. “She gave believable accounts of White House awareness that the planned Jan. 6 rally could turn violent. She repeated testimony that Trump not only knew that then-Vice President Mike Pence’s life had been credibly threatened that day but also that he was somewhere between uncaring and actually approving of Pence’s danger.”

And, the Examiner noted, Hutchinson “told, in detail, that Trump repeatedly insisted that he himself should join his supporters at the Capitol — even after being informed the crowd contained armed elements and that it was breaching the perimeter against an undermanned U.S. Capitol Police force.”

All of the scenes the former top White House aide conveyed what the outlet said was “a damning portrayal of Trump as unstable, unmoored, and absolutely heedless of his sworn duty to effectuate a peaceful transition of presidential power.”

The Examiner editorial flies in the face of the punditry across other conservative media about Hutchinson’s testimony, much of which has dismissed her as not credible or relying on hearsay.

“Trump is a disgrace,” the Examiner asserted. “Republicans have far better options to lead the party in 2024. No one should think otherwise, much less support him, ever again.”

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