Trump 'more unhinged' in his rhetoric, ex-staffer-turned critic says
Sarah Matthews, an ex-staffer of former President Trump, on Sunday warned the former president's rhetoric has recently become "more unhinged," and called on voters to listen closely to his language.
"I do think that he's [Trump] gotten more unhinged in his rhetoric," Matthews said Sunday during an interview on MSNBC's "Inside with Jen Psaki.
"Obviously, Donald Trump's first four years in office were marked by lots of controversies, but I think that type of rhetoric that he's using today, it's really concerning. It's almost Hitler-esque in a way, especially when he talks about things like immigration, saying things like 'poisoning the blood of our country.'"
Matthews, who resigned as Trump's deputy press secretary hours after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection, was referencing the former president's remarks late last year where he claimed immigrants coming into the U.S. are "destroying the blood of our country."
The comments drew comparisons to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.
"I mean, he's trying to prey on people's worst instincts and get them angry and riled up and that's something he tends to do, but it's just the rhetoric that he's using is really concerning to me now," Matthews said.
Contending Trump is a "threat" to the country's democracy, Matthews said Trump's comments speak for themself.
"You just have to look at what he's saying and pay close attention when he says things like he's going to be a 'dictator on day one,' she said, in reference to Trump's pledge in December to be a "dictator for one day," if reelected to the White House in order to secure the southern border and begin drilling in the U.S.
"And not even just his words. He showed us already what a second Trump term would look like," she added. "By the way, his first term ended because look, he cannot accept the fact that he lost in 2020 to Joe Biden, so then he tried to overturn a free and fair election and helped incite an insurrection on our nation's capital."
Matthews testified in 2022 before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack and said at the time of her resignation she was "disturbed" by the events that unfolded that day.
She has since emerged as a vocal critic of the former president and went as far to say she would choose President Biden if he faces off against Trump in November's election.
"I have said that if it is a choice between Donald Trump and Joe Biden in a general election, that even if I don’t agree with the policies of President Biden, that I would put policy aside and I would cast my vote for him for democracy,” Matthews said. “Because I look at Donald Trump, and this is someone who has shown us he will not uphold the Constitution. And so, there is no question in my mind then that I would be voting for Joe Biden.”
Matthews on Sunday noted her support has been with Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, who has so far lost three consecutive primary battles against the former president.
"I'm really encouraged to see her performance last night in South Carolina, I know she lost," Matthews said. "But look, she garnered 40 percent of the vote and that shows there is a faction in the Republican Party that wants to leave Donald Trump behind and so it gives me hope for the future."
Trump trounced Haley in her home state of South Carolina over the weekend by nearly 20 points, according to Decision Desk HQ results. Despite the loss, Haley has vowed to remain in the primary race, citing disapproval ratings of Biden and Trump.