Donald Trump Should Be 'Nowhere Near' Nuclear Codes, Ex-Aide Says

Donald Trump's "volcanic" temper means that he should not be allowed near the nuclear codes as president, according to a former White House aide.

Cassidy Hutchinson, who worked for Trump's ex-Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and recently detailed her time in the White House in her book, Enough, made the claims during an appearance on MSNBC.

Hutchinson is known for delivering some of the most damning testimony against Trump during the live January 6 House committee hearings last year, including that the former president was aware that some of his supporters were armed on Jan. 6, 2021, and still told them to March towards the Capitol. She also alleged she heard that Trump had lunged at a Secret Service agent's throat and grabbed the steering wheel of the presidential limousine in an attempt to join his supporters who were rioting.

During the June 2022 hearing, the former aide also testified that Trump threw a plate at a wall in December 2020 after then-Attorney General Bill Bar gave an interview to the Associated Press stating the Department of Justice found no evidence of widespread voter fraud at the last election, resulting in ketchup "dripping down the wall" of the White House. Trump denied the allegations.

Speaking to MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell, Hutchinson said she saw "several" other incidents of the frontrunner in the GOP primary losing his temper, and suggested such volatile behavior means he is unsuitable to be president again.

"Out of all of the reasons that Donald Trump should never be anywhere close to the Oval Office again, this may seem like a minor one, but his volcanic temper—He deserves to be nowhere near the nuclear code buttons," Hutchinson said.

"For Americans listening to this, to know that he reacts so irrationally to things that his own hand-picked Attorney General is telling him that is the truth. I think we should let the ketchup be displayed on the walls at Mar-a-Lago. I'm sure there's plenty of it down there nowadays."

Trump's office has been contacted for comment via email.

Hutchinson was also asked to react to Trump's recent comments at a town hall hosted by Fox News' Sean Hannity, in which the former president was asked if he would act like a dictator if he returned to the White House.

Trump answered he wouldn't "except for day one."

"I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill," Trump said in reference to his vow to expand oil drilling in the U.S.

When Hannity responded with "That's not retribution," Trump added: "I love this guy, he says, 'You're not going to be a dictator are you?' I said no, no, no, other than day one. We're closing the border and we're drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I'm not a dictator."

Asked by O'Donnell whether she believed Trump would be a dictator "on day two," Hutchinson said the former president represents an "extreme threat" to American security and American prosperity.

"A vote for Donald Trump is a vote for a fascist government," Hutchinson said. "I think Donald Trump prioritizes authoritarian rule over rule of law. Donald Trump has told us who he is for years and years, so for him to even joke about being a dictator, we need to believe what he says. Everybody needs to believe what he says, and we have seen that this is the trajectory that it's going in."

Senior Trump adviser Jason Miller previously rejected the fears that Trump would become a dictator if he is re-elected president.

"It's August 2016 all over again. Skyrocketing cost of health care has millions worried. President Trump's Dem. opponent off the campaign trail & hiding from the press," Miller posted on X, formerly Twitter.

"Dems & their media allies have given up on debating issues & have shifted to name-calling & rhetorical fearmongering."