Ex-Trump Chief Mulvaney Says 2024 GOP Candidates Sees Trump as ‘Damaged’ by Bombshell Jan. 6 Hearings

Former Trump Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney told CNN’s Kasie Hunt that former President Donald Trump‘s 2024 rivals view him as “damaged” by the blockbuster January 6 hearings.

On Wednesday night’s edition of CNN Tonight, Hunt asked Mulvaney to assess the political effect of the hearings, and Mulvaney said that while the stunning revelations may not be “determinative” for voters, potential Trump rivals like Mike Pompeo, Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott, and Nikki Haley smell blood in the water in a way they did not prior to the hearings:

HUNT: When you say you wish more folks were watching, I mean, what is your assessment? You, of course, are a politician. Were, for a long time.

What’s your assessment, of whether Republicans, are willing to be moved, especially in some of these key swing states, like Georgia, and perhaps Wisconsin, where those hearings, these hearings, might be getting a little bit more coverage?

MULVANEY: Yes, it’s not determinative. But, I think, it was like – it wasn’t Gallup that somebody came out with a poll, just in the last 12 hours that asked folks to rate, what the most important issues to them are. And it didn’t prompt them to give an answer.

And no one said January 6th – no one said the January 6th commissions. Things like the economy are still driving ordinary Americans, and what they care about.

That being said – and by the way, I don’t think the hearings are moving that needle, one way or the other. Inside Washington, inside the political world, so outside of Washington, in politics, it is moving the needle.

And what you’re seeing, I think, is folks, especially in my party, are looking at Donald Trump, as damaged, and as something that might weigh down, the party, going into the midterms, and into 2024, which is why, I think, you’re starting to hear rumblings now about Mike Pence, running in 2024, against Donald Trump. Mike Pompeo, Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott, Nikki Haley.

Those were discussions that I don’t think you would have had six weeks ago, or eight weeks ago, before these commission hearings started.

Mulvaney went on to say he would not vote for Trump in a primary, adding “I’ve got a lot of friends, who are running. I’m not going to tell you, who I would vote for. But there’s a lot of folks, who I think would be a better president, than Donald Trump, in a Republican primary. ”

Watch above via CNN.