Fmr. Trump comms. director weighs in on tearful testimony

Today in Donald Trump’s hush money cover up trial, we heard from Madeline Westerhout that is a former Trump assistant at the White House. Her desk was just outside the Oval Office. She’ll be back on the witness stand tomorrow. Let’s bring Alyssa Farah Griffin. And she was the communications director in tribes Trump’s White House. So you know Madeline Westerhout. Tell us about her, why she might be an important witness and and what is she like? So I was. I wasn’t surprised to hear her name called. Because actually when Hope Hicks was on the stand, I was thinking, Madeline sat right in the outer Oval with Hope in the early days of the Trump administration. So she was his executive assistant, but very much a gatekeeper. This was an unlike any other White House where you would go through her to get an audience with the president. Cabinet secretaries would call her. They would reach out to her, but also her proximity physically to the Resolute Desk where the president would take his meetings throughout the day. She could see him. She could likely hear conversations if the door was open. She’s somebody who was well liked in Trump World. I don’t have a bad thing to say about Maddie. She also, I think she’s somebody who presents very well that came through and what we were hearing. She’s smiling to the jury. She’s, you know, acknowledging the former president. I have yet to see what she offers specifically on this this case, other than to simply verify that he did pay attention to both his finances and like documents around his finances and communications in general. So very much corroborating Hope Hicks in that regard. Do you doubt the charges? I mean, do you doubt that like there were that he that there was a falsification of business records to hide this hush money payment and that he knew about Michael Cohen doing it? I don’t doubt for a minute that he had the affair, that he paid hush money and that he tried to cover it up. But if I’m being honest, I’m not an attorney. I have yet to see the connection on the falsifying business records. I think that’s where a lot of people watching this would stand. By the way, I think a lot of people, Republican voters, unfortunately, have made peace with the fact that this affair likely happened and they just frankly don’t care. So it is that I don’t know. What if I’d call it an affair? Well, that’s basically giving it to this rendezvous, this rendezvous, this rendezvous. But I think that people are going to need to see a very clear link to willingly falsifying those records. We, I think they’ve established it was for campaign intent. That was part of it, But that is the piece that I’ve yet to see. Do you think at all that especially with the magnitude of the other charges against him, also credible charges? I’m not saying he’s guilty or innocent, but there it’s a case when it comes to January 6th when it comes to classified documents. Do you think there is the risk that voters will look at this case and think what? Well, it also it creates fatigue. I’m I’m, I’m devastated and I was talking to I’ve got a text thread with former Trump White House officials who testified against him in January 6th. And we just are stunned that this is the case we’re getting before the election that with all the evidence that was done, the committee work, the Department of Justice, it’s very likely the public will not get a resolution on the January 6th charges ahead of the election. It is so much more important than anything that’s been debated in this courtroom today. And it also is what would have influence with voters, the testimony that we would hear from someone like his former vice president, his former chief of staff, on his actions to try to overturn the election, his lead up to January 6th in the violence that day. And instead, we’re hearing this sort of tawdry, gross thing about something that he did, that I have no doubt he did. But it doesn’t impact our democracy the way this other case does. Yeah. All right. Alyssa Farah Griffin, it’s always great to see you, especially in person. Thanks for being here.