Former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson endorses Kamala Harris in 2024 Presidential Race
Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who previously worked for Donald Trump's Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming presidential election. According to a report by The Washington Post, Hutchinson announced her support for Harris during an appearance on MSNBC, citing the Vice President's character and commitment to upholding the rule of law as key factors in her decision.
Hutchinson, who gained national attention after testifying before the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol, revealed that she had long decided not to vote for Trump again. "I’ve known for quite a long time, number one, that I would never in my life vote for Donald Trump ever again," she told MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell. She added that her support for the Democratic ticket, now led by Harris, was solidified after watching Trump's choice of Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate.
Hutchinson’s endorsement aligns her with a growing list of Republicans backing Harris, including former Wyoming congresswoman Liz Cheney and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney. She criticized Trump and Vance, stating, “They cannot be trusted with the Constitution. They cannot be trusted to uphold our rule of law, and they can’t be trusted to enact responsible policy.”
In response, Trump’s campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung defended the former president, claiming that Trump had unified the Republican Party and garnered broad support within his administration. However, The Washington Post reported that only 24 of Trump's 42 cabinet members had publicly endorsed his candidacy by August.
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NDA's win in Bihar Assembly bypolls a matter of concern: Prashant Kishor
Patna, Nov 23: Political strategist turned activist Prashant Kishor on Saturday dubbed as "a matter of concern" the NDA's win in assembly by-polls in Bihar despite "failure" of the BJP-led coalition to end the state's chronic backwardness during it's decades-long rule.
Talking to reporters here shortly after the results were out, Kishor also drew succour from the fact that his fledgling Jan Suraaj won "10 per cent" of the total votes polled in four seats, but rubbished the claim that it had played a role in the RJD's defeat in three of these.
"RJD is a 30-year-old party. The son of its state president finished third. Can Jan Suraaj be faulted for that? In Belaganj all Muslim votes went to the JD(U) candidate. In Imamganj, the Jan Suraaj cut into NDA votes. Else, the victory margin of (Union minister) Jitan Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha would have been bigger", asserted Kishor.
Notably, Imamganj, a reserved seat, was retained by Manjhi's daughter-in-law Deepa, who defeated the RJD candidate by a thin margin of less than 6,000 votes. Jan Suraaj candidate Jitendra Paswan finished third, polling more than 37,000 votes.
When pointed out that in three of the four seats, candidates of Jan Suraaj had polled less than one-sixth of the total votes and ran the risk of losing their deposits, Kishor shot back "That should not be a matter of concern (chinta ki baat). If there is a matter of concern, it is the ability of the NDA to make a clean sweep despite having ruled Bihar for so long and "failed" to end the state's backwardness".
The IPAC founder, who had a brief stint in the JD(U), insisted that the party's supremo Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar, was a "spent force" and its candidate, former MLC Manorama Devi, had won on her own steam.
"We have always said that our fight is with NDA, not with RJD despite its claim of being the largest party in Bihar.....(but) Nitish Kumar is no factor. His party polled just about 11 per cent of total votes", said Kishor.
About his own party's inability to make a mark, Kishor said "We have secured 10 per cent votes..... in seats where Jan Suraaj had no presence since these areas were yet to be covered by my padyatra. Also, please note that we got our poll symbol after filing of nomination papers was over".
He also maintained that the Jan Suraaj will go solo in the assembly polls due next year when it will contest "all 243 seats".
"We were initially written off but by garnering about 10 per cent votes, in a state known to vote along predictable caste lines, we have proved a point. In the next few months we shall be strengthening the organization to ensure that vote share of the Jan Suraaj improves", he said.
