The View’s Whoopi Goldberg compared Donald Trump’s supporters and former employees to members of a “cult” during a heated interview with his ex-White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson.
Cassidy, 27, who worked in the White House and was also an assistant to former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows during the Trump administration, faced tough questions from the View panel on Tuesday about her decision to go to Mar-a-Lago. the former president. refuge after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Joy Behar, 80, also questioned Cassidy and her former Trump aide Alyssa Farah Griffin, 34, asking if the pair were “in some kind of denial” as she struggled to understand why they continued to support Trump for so long.
The hard-line questions saw Whoopi and Joy make bold claims about Trump’s supporters – with the latter at one point joking that his supporters all seemed to have “daddy issues.”
Alyssa, Cassidy’s former colleague, began the interview by asking how her life has changed since she testified at the United States House Select Committee’s public hearings on the January 6 attack.
Whoopi Goldberg compared Donald Trump’s supporters and former employees to members of a “cult” during Tuesday’s episode of The View
Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson appeared on the ABC program on Tuesday
Sunny Hostin (center) asked Cassidy about her new book, while Alyssa Farah Griffin called her her “best friend”
“My life has definitely changed in different ways. All good manners, but there has been a learning curve with all of this,” Cassidy said.
“I ended up moving to Atlanta for about three months and then I moved back to Washington DC. So during this period, I had very publicly separated myself from the Trump world on June 28th.
“But then it was this period of trying to figure out how I was going to tell my story and tell my story effectively and responsibly because I had this experience where I was on the inside of the Trump world and I had the experience of splitting it up in a very public way.
“But you know, we’re facing a moment now where I think it’s really important to have voices like ours and Sarah Matthews, who has testified before the committee that can speak to the dangers of Donald Trump.”
Despite telling Cassidy, who was on the show to promote her new book Enough, that she admired her for speaking out and being “honest and courageous,” Joy pushed for an explanation as to why she ever said she “worshipped” Trump and “would take a bullet for him,” claiming it “stunned” her.
“I wrote that I adored the president and I’m sticking with that in the past tense,” Cassidy said.
“But I think that’s emblematic of how tens of millions of Americans feel. I don’t think I’m the only person who had those feelings or currently has similar feelings toward him.”
The brunette added: “He has such a strong fan base. And we need to be able to communicate with those people if we want to open their eyes to the dangers of Donald Trump.”
The 27-year-old spoke about her past “loyalty” to Trump while promoting her book
Sunny (right) asked Cassidy why she continued to go to Mar-a-Lago after the January 6 attack
Alyssa, 34, admitted she “worshipped” Trump when she worked for him in the White House
Cassidy then spoke about the “moral tug-of-war” she experienced after the January 6 attack, admitting she was “afraid” to make it public because there was an “unspoken cloak of loyalty” within the government.
Cassidy had said Trump suggested to Meadows that he approved of his supporters chanting “hang Mike Pence” as they stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, a CNN report at the time of the committee alleged.
Her testimony also showed to investigators that Trump complained that his vice president had been kept safe during the breach.
“I didn’t understand it at the time, but that’s not normal,” Cassidy said. “It’s not normal — even as staffers — to have to feel like you’re dedicating your loyalty to the principle, the president.”
“It’s cult-like, it’s a cult,” Whoopi interjected as Cassidy continued, “And we took our oath, so in this transformation period, I give Alyssa so much credit because I know how hard it is to come out right now come, but she was really one of the first people to take that stand.’
Cassidy was referring to the moment when Alyssa — who resigned as White House communications director on Dec. 3, 2020 — denounced the attack and on Jan. 8, 2021, blamed Trump for inciting the insurrection and suggested he should resign.
Once again, Joy was eager to try to understand how both Cassidy and Alyssa had admired Trump, asking, “So you were in some kind of denial with the two of you? About the? I still do not understand. He grabbed women, you know that! There were so many things about him, but January 6 wasn’t even the trigger?’
“No, January 6th was the trigger for it, and to be honest, I didn’t agree with everything the administration was doing, but I did believe that its policies and the way we would approve policies with Congress were largely favorable Cassidy explained.
Host Sunny Hostin, 54, chimed in to admit that she found elements of the book “weird,” especially where Cassidy wrote about her visit to Mar-a-Lago after the Jan. 6 attack.
“This point of the book was very difficult for me,” Cassidy admitted. ‘I tried to write the book with the intention of taking the reader into my way of thinking at the time. To be honest, it’s confusing and I was in a confused fog of divided loyalties, but I knew what I wanted but didn’t feel like I had the power to break from it.”
Cassidy testified at the United States House Select Committee public hearings on the January 6 attack
Alyssa, 34, worked in the White House during Donald Trump’s presidency
Cassidy said she felt a “moral tug-of-war” when it came to Trump and working for him
Cassidy explained that at the time she thought Trump “made bad decisions” because he had certain people around him advising him to do so — but said she now realizes it was his own fault.
“He made those decisions. He is an adult man and has made decisions to circumvent our democratic constitutional state. But I still felt that loyalty towards him because I wanted him to still be surrounded by good people and I thought I could be a decent voice with him,” she added.
At that point, Whoopi asked bluntly, “Didn’t you know you were in a cult?” as the live studio cheered her question and Alyssa admitted, “He has power over people. I did that at one point… I’ve been open about it, there was a period when I was crazy about him, I used the same word.’
Sunny scoffed at her comment and joked, “Is he that charismatic eating those cheeseburgers?!” as Joy asked, “Are there daddy issues?
” Do many of these people feel like they have daddy issues? A lot of them follow Dad and say, “Tell me what to do, Dad!”
Viewers tuning in at home were less than impressed with the interview and took to X – formerly known as Twitter – to share their thoughts.
“Cassidy Hutchison is not an impressive person. She joined a cult and made it possible.
Nothing about Donald Trump is worth admiring. Never wash. #TheView,” one person wrote.
Another fumed: “Cassidy told the truth. Fine, but she’s so fake. She loves every moment of attention.#theview.’
A third person claimed: ‘I don’t believe my opinion of Cassidy Hutchinson. This soft tone and its retrospective clarity are a lie. You supported that man until it was profitable to leave. Miss me with the BS. #The view.’
And a fourth added: ‘I know the bar is set low but yeah I’m not impressed with Cassidy Hutchison. #The view.’