Cassidy Hutchinson Opens Up her Relationship with Donald Trump at Freeman Auditorium

On March 14, Cassidy Hutchinson, the Former White House Communications Director. came in to talk about her experience working under the Trump administration and what led to her testifying against Trump.

Hutchinson, who had a loose plan in college, knew she wanted to work in Washington. She got an internship that would later change the trajectory of her life, landing her a job at the Office of Legislative Affairs and working under the Trump administration. What she did not anticipate, however, was that her loyalty to the person she admired would waver, the deeper she delved into the world of politics.

The first time she met Trump, she immediately felt an immediate pull towards him. He was a strong businessman, someone she believed would make America truly great again.

“For the most part, I did believe that Donald Trump was working on behalf of the American people, and I was really proud to work with Donald Trump,” Hutchinson said. “I recognized he had flaws but I entered public service to serve my country.”

She admitted she questioned his actions at times, but she kept those thoughts to herself. She could not sever her loyalty to Trump and was seen as a traitor.

Then, the incident on Jan. 6 occurred. Trump’s supporters attacked the Capitol, and he did not stop them. It was a turning point in Hutchinson’s life: she knew she had to come forward. She could not ignore Trump’s flaws anymore; she knew this was his way of inserting dominance—to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 presidential election. Supporters of Trump claimed that Donald Trump wasn’t responsible for what happened on Jan. 6.

However, Hutchinson firmly disagrees: “For Donald Trump, he rules through fear, through authoritarian rule. He tries to invoke fear through people so they don’t speak out against him, and he has done that successfully. He capitalizes on the fears and anxieties of people. He shows that he’s willing to set mobs on people and to threaten violence if you dare speak out against him.”

She is against Trump becoming president again. “To make sure that Donald Trump never gets near the Global Office again, please make sure that his enablers, particularly republic members of Congress, are voted out of Congress and that they’re held accountable for their actions as well,” Hutchinson told the audience.

When asked whether Trump’s supporters should be held accountable as well from one of the audience members, Hutchinson approaches this issue with empathy: they were victims of Trump’s rule too.

“We need to promote environments where we can have constructive conversations,” she said. “I’ve had conversations with many democratic members of Congress. We can agree politically on many things; what we want is a better America in the future.”

Emily Lin is a first-year majoring in communications. To contact her, email, email eml6121@psu.edu