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Mick Mulvaney in October 2016: Trump would be disqualified from office in an 'ordinary universe'
Posted December 17, 2018 5:37 p.m. EST
By Andrew Kaczynski, CNN
(CNN) — Incoming White House acting-chief of staff Mick Mulvaney once said Donald Trump's past words and actions would disqualify him from becoming president in an "ordinary universe."
Mulvaney made the comments in a previously unreported October 2016 radio interview in which he also said Trump is not a role model and has said "atrocious things." On October 7, 2016, a week before Mulvaney made the comments, the Access Hollywood tape of Trump making lewd comments about women, including bragging about grabbing them by the genitals, was made public.
"My guess is worse stuff is going to come out in the last 30 days," Mulvaney said on October 13, 2016 on the Jonathan and Kelly Show, a South Carolina-based radio show. "They've got more videotapes. Everything the guy's ever said is on a videotape or an audio tape. There is going to be some atrocious things that are gonna come out. That's not going to make Hillary Clinton a good candidate for president."
"Should either of these people be, be a role model for my 16-year-old triplets? No," Mulvaney said. "In an ordinary universe, would both of these people's past activities disqualify them for serving for office? Yes. But that's not the world we live in today. The world we live in today, it's either him or her and for me that's still an easy choice."
The resurfacing of Mulvaney's remarks attacking Trump's character in 2016 comes as he is being elevated within the President's orbit. Trump announced on Friday that Mulvaney would serve as acting chief of staff, replacing Gen. John Kelly. Mulvaney currently serves as director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.
The Daily Beast on Friday reported that Mulvaney, then a congressman, called Trump "a terrible human being" at a November 2016 congressional debate.
In a 2016 Facebook post, Mulvaney similarly said he had learned throughout the 2016 campaign that Trump "is not a very good person."
In all instances, Mulvaney said he was supporting Trump, but only because he believed Hillary Clinton would be a worse president.
In a statement, Meghan Burris, a spokesperson for Mulvaney, said, "This is old news. These comments were made in 2016, when he was a Congressman and had yet to meet the President. Congressman Mulvaney continued to support then-Candidate Trump throughout the election, and his support for President Trump has never wavered while serving within the Administration. He both likes and respects the President, and he likes working for him."
"More importantly, Director Mulvaney believes in the President - because he is working every day to lift up millions of Americans and stands up for our great country," Burris added.
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