Ex-Trump aide says RNC discussed replacing him as presidential candidate after 'Access Hollywood' tape
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: Former White House assistant Madeleine Westerhout testified that the Republican National Committee conducted discussions about the possibility of replacing Donald Trump as the 2016 GOP nominee after the 'Access Hollywood' tape came out.
Taking the witness stand on day 14 of the former president's historic hush money trial, Westerhout narrated how the RNC went reeling after the controversial 2005 tape became public a month before the 2016 election. The former Trump aide at the time worked as an assistant to the then-RNC chief of staff.
"There were conversations about — if it would be — how it would be possible to replace him as a candidate if it came to that," she testifies in the Manhattan courthouse on Thursday, May 9, as per NBC News.
According to prosecutors, the tape where Trump boasted about grabbing women by private parts damaged his 2016 campaign.
Defense lawyer downplays impact of 'Access Hollywood' tape
During the cross-examination, Trump's attorney, Susan Necheles, soft-pedaled the effects of the notorious tape on her client.
"There were a couple of days of consternation," she said while questioning, adding, "that happened all the time during the campaign."
"There's always some event that causes total consternation for a couple of days, right?" the attorney asked, and Westerhout replied with a "yes."
Necheles claimed that when "everybody around would be freaking out," the former president "just kept his mind straight-forward and kept running for the election."
Before the trial kicked off, the prosecutors, in a court filing, stated that the 'Access Hollywood' tape's release "caused a panic within the campaign about the defendant's electoral prospects and ultimately served as the catalyst for consummating the Stormy Daniels payoff."
Trump's lead attorney, Todd Blanche, in his opening arguments, stated that ex-president's then-fixer Michael Cohen, paying adult film actress Daniels was not wrong because it was to prevent embarrassment to Trump's family.
On Day 14, one of the key witnesses, Daniels, completed her testimony after taking the witness stand for around 6 hours. She and Nicheles engaged in a fiery cross-examination about the alleged sexual encounter the actress had with Trump.
The former president faces 34 federal counts for falsifying business records to cover up the $ 130,000 payment to Daniels shortly before the 2016 election to silence her about their affair.
Internet reacts
Weighing in on the former Trump aide's revelation that the RNC had discussed replacing Trump as the presidential nominee in 2016, netizens said they should have done it.
One Facebook user wrote, "Too little, too late." Another remarked, "Evidently not enough conversation went into that."
"The “Access Hollywood” tape should have more than rattled the RNC leadership. They should have buried trump because of that," a third user opined.
A fourth response read, "They should have, it would have saved a lot of problems and embarrassing moments for the nation that still continues today."
"RNC leadership has been bent over ever since," someone else commented. Meanwhile, another said, "No wonder he was desperate to hide his affairs."
An individual wrote, "Too bad the didn't. None of this nonsense would be going on. Replace him now." One remark read, "If only...Now they have a second chance!"
"Evidently it didn’t rattle them enough," added another person.
This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.
