CNN’s Dana Bash Wonders If Trump Aide Walt Nauta Could Flip Given Trump’s ‘One-Way Street’ of Loyalty

During CNN’s coverage of the arrest and arraignment of former president Donald Trump, anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash took a moment to express their appreciation for those who have spoken to them about what it’s like inside Trump’s insular circle. During the discussion, Bash commented on how many former Trump loyalists have become “eager” to speak out against their former boss and wondered if Trump’s body man Walt Nauta, who has been charged with six counts alongside the former president, might flip on him.

CNN gained some insight into what could be going through Trump’s mind as he surrendered to federal authorities in Miami by bringing on the former president’s deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews and Stephanie Grisham, who served as press secretary and the chief of staff to former first lady Melania Trump. Both former Trump officials shared their experiences with the panel and expressed their lack of surprise over the 37 federal charges against their former boss (Matthews referred to the charges as “100 percent self-inflicted”), but went into some detail about how unorthodox it was to be one of Trump’s close associates.

After telling their stories, Tapper gave them — and another panelist, Alyssa Farah Griffin, who was White House director of strategic communications and assistant to Trump — praise for coming forward:

Tapper: First of all, let me just say, I am glad and grateful that we have insights from people like Sarah and Stephanie, and also Alyssa Farah. They really just do help open a window into a bizarre world.

Bash: They do, but it’s also very telling that there are people like the three you mentioned and many, many more who are willing, and in some cases eager to talk about that bizarre world. Because, according to the way they talk about it, it was — and is — very, very bizarre. And the fact that people have cycled through Trump World, particularly as he has become a politician and then president, speaks to the one-way street that we just heard about, that Stephanie was talking about, when it comes to loyalty, which does sort of put into question what is going to happen with Walt Nauta, particually as he is very much in legal jeopardy.

Bash joined to ranks of other pundits and observers who have suggested that Nauta could make a deal and flip on Trump, which was the advice offered by Sarah Matthews in this segment.

Trump has pleaded “not guilty” to the 37 charges against him.

Watch the clip above via CNN.