GARBAGE: Former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney demonstrates split in Trump’s inner circle

Former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney is trashing his former boss’s circle of so-called “friends.” Mulvaney went on Twitter during the second day of Jan. 6th Select Committee hearings to criticize those surrounding Trump in his bitter final days in the Oval office. The only ones insane enough to continue to push Trump’s stolen election lies after his landslide defeat by Joe Biden — and embarrass everyone in the process — were the ones remaining with him to the bitter end: namely Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Lin Wood, and the recently arrested Peter Navarro. Mulvaney’s tweet insinuated that Trump was ill-served by this motley crew, or, as he put it in a computer programming metaphor, “Garbage in. Garbage out”

Trump's inner circle at the end was…Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Lin Wood, Peter Navarro…

Garbage in. Garbage out.

— Mick Mulvaney (@MickMulvaney) June 13, 2022

A previous ally and a staunch defender of then-President Donald Trump, Mulvaney had a change of heart in the wake of the Capitol riot. Millions watched in horror when a violent mob, incited by Trump’s rhetoric, stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power, something that this country has prided itself on and a cornerstone of our democracy.

It’s been two and a half years since Mulvaney supported Trump’s paranoid theory of some vast conspiracy to undermine his presidency by what was frequently referred to as the “deep state.” This insane line of thinking envisioned an invisible swamp of covert operatives who apparently went their entire lives just waiting for Donald Trump to be elected President – simply so they could undermine him. According to CNN, in February 2020, Mulvaney told the crowd at an Oxford Union speech in the UK that this idea was “one hundred percent true.”

Mulvaney’s about-face isn’t completely off-brand. He has a history of walking back statements – even if they were recorded on tape. After Trump was accused of holding up money for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to defend his country against what was then still an anticipated Russian attack, in exchange for announcing an investigation into Joe Biden’s troubled son, Hunter, Mulvaney publicly admitted it. After leaked text messages revealed the plot, Mulvaney replied: “That’s why we held up the money.” He went on to say “We do that all the time with foreign policy.”

When that quid pro quo led to Trump’s first unsuccessful impeachment and trial. Mulvaney backpedaled, claiming later that the money was being held up because of suspected “corruption” in the sovereign country.

Prior to stepping down, Mulvaney supported Trump’s legal attempts to overturn the results in key battleground states – but even then he was wary of Rudy Giuliani’s involvement. He told Fox News‘ Maria Bartiromo in November of 2020 that:

“I’m still a little concerned about the use of Rudy Giuliani. It strikes me that this is the most important lawsuit in the history of the country, and they’re not using the most well-noted election lawyers. There are folks who do this all of the time. This is a specialty.”

Shortly after that conversation, Mulvaney called Trump’s efforts a “PR stunt,” Mediaite reports. But today, Mulvaney seemed to be disillusioned with the “Big Lie” and all that comes with it. He suggested that those people who still believe in the stolen election lies will be brought to their senses by the televised hearings.

I'm not sure how today's hearing will establish that Trump "knew" he lost — indeed, all the evidence is that he never accepted that — but I do wish that every person who thinks Trump really did win watched what we just saw.

— Mick Mulvaney (@MickMulvaney) June 13, 2022

For the sake of the country, democracy, and moving forward – let’s hope so too.

Original reporting by Jon Skolnik at Raw Story

Follow Ty Ross on Twitter @cooltxchick

Ty Ross

News journalist for Occupy Democrats.

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