Sarah Matthews, a former White House press aide to Donald Trump, said the ex-president has become increasingly unstable after losing the 2020 election and warned Republican voters he’s focused solely on “getting revenge.”
During a panel discussion on “The Source” Thursday, Matthews reacted to 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s comments that Trump has become “more unhinged, more unstable,” since they faced off eight years ago.
Repeating Clinton’s terminology, Matthews said, “I would agree with that. And that’s been my warning to Republican voters out there.”
“Look, this isn’t the same man that I worked for. I think that something in him broke after the 2020 election. He was unable to accept that loss, and he started to unravel,” she said.
She went on, “I know some could argue that maybe he wasn’t all there to begin with, but I believe, though, truly, that in 2016 he was running on this vision to make America great again, and voters were taking a gamble on him because he didn’t have a record to run on.
“And then in 2020, obviously, the American people rejected him. And then now, in 2024, he’s hellbent on revenge and retribution,” she added.
Matthews, who has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, praised the Democratic nominee for focusing her messaging on a to-do list over an “enemy list.”
“She’s focused on solutions. He’s focused on petty arguments and getting revenge on people,” she said.
Matthews is one of more than a dozen “lifelong Republican” former aides to Trump who signed a letter this week condemning their onetime boss and saying they were not surprised by recent revelations from John Kelly.
Kelly, Trump’s former chief of staff, went on the record this week to assert that Trump would govern like a dictator and had expressed admiration of Adolf Hitler to him when they worked together.
Trump’s behavior on the campaign trail has driven increasing alarm. He’s acted erratically, spewed incoherent nonsense in response to specific questions and gotten confused about people, places and other words.
Hundreds of healthcare professionals have warned he exhibits signs of a personality disorder and cognitive decline.