Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson fired back at Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Monday night after the lawmaker said the two once dated.
Gaetz made the claim in response to accusations of uncomfortable behavior in a new book from Hutchinson, who served in the White House of Donald Trump as an aide to then-Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
In one instance, she wrote that Gaetz brushed his thumb across her chin and said, “Has anyone ever told you you’re a national treasure?”
Gaetz told MSNBC he didn’t remember the incidents detailed in the book “and based on Cassidy’s prior false statements, I doubt they occurred.” He also said they dated “for a few weeks” and “parted amicably.”
Hutchinson rejected that claim during an interview with the network’s Rachel Maddow.
“I never dated Matt Gaetz,” she said. “I have much higher standards in men, and Matt, frankly, is a very unserious politician. We see that today with the ruckus that he is causing on Capitol Hill with the spending negotiations. And I don’t really have much else to say to somebody that is more concerned about a sound bite than actually passing legislation.”
She said she doesn’t hold Gaetz in high regards on trust, and doesn’t think he has the best “track record” for relationships, but added that they were “good friends” at points.
See more of the interview below:
