‘I Never Dated Matt Gaetz’: Cassidy Hutchinson Denies Republican’s Claim, Says ‘I Have Much Higher Standards In Men’
Cassidy Hutchinson, the former White House aide who was a key witness in last year’s Jan. 6 committee hearings, addressed a claim by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) that the two once dated.
Appearing on Monday’s edition of The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC, Hutchinson was asked about a passage in her new book Enough, where she described some encounters with the Florida lawmaker.
“There’s also a couple of instances involving Congressman Matt Gaetz,” Maddow noted. “I will omit most of the context here, but I’ll tell you the lines that have kept me up and uncomfortable.”
The host began quoting from Hutchinson’s book.
“‘He chuckled and brushed his thumb across my chin,'” Maddow said, reading the excerpt aloud. “‘Has anyone ever told you you’re a national treasure?'”
Maddow cited Hutchinson’s recollection of another encounter.
“You describe a night at Camp David when he was leaning against the door frame while somebody answered the door to another cabin,” she went on. “‘Matt straightened his posture when Kevin McCarthy asked him what he wanted. He explained he had seen my golf cart parked outside and thought this was my cabin. Embarrassed, I got up and asked Mr. Gaetz what he needed. He explained that he was lost and asked me to escort him to his cabin. I told him to proceed around the circle drive. All the cabins are clearly marked. It’s impossible to get lost. He asked me one more time to leave with him. Kevin McCarthy then said, quote, Get a life, Matt, and shut the door.'”
Maddow told viewers that when asked for comment, Gaetz offered a statement in which he claimed he and Hutchinson dated.
“He told us, ‘I don’t remember either of these events and based on Cassidy’s prior false statements, I doubt they occurred. I did date Cassidy for a few weeks when we were both single years ago. We parted amicably and remained friends thereafter even during President Trump’s post[-]presidency,'” the statement read.
The host asked Hutchinson if Gaetz’s claim is true.
“I’m sorry to ask you if you want to respond to that, but I’m going to ask you if you want to respond,” Maddow said.
“I’d love to respond to that right now, so thank you for giving me the option,” she replied. Hutchinson proceeded to tell Maddow she did not date Gaetz because she has “much higher standards in men”:
I will give Matt credit in part of his statement that we did have an amicable working relationship and we were good friends at points. Matt Gaetz, in my opinion, is somebody that I personally do not hold in high regard in terms of trust and I do not think that Matt Gaetz has the best track record for relationships and condoning his relationships, how he thinks that they might be defined.
I will say on behalf of myself I never dated Matt Gaetz. I have much higher standards in men. And Matt, frankly, is a very unserious politician. We see that today with the ruckus that he is causing on Capitol Hill with the spending negotiations. And I’m not– I don’t really have much else to say to somebody that is more concerned about a soundbite than actually passing legislation.
Watch above via MSNBC.
