So Brave: Cassidy Hutchinson Says She’s Not Interested in Dating Man Investigated for Human Trafficking

Cassidy Hutchinson, the former Trump White House aide who last year testified before the House Jan 6th Select Committee, is in the national spotlight yet again as she continues to promote her new memoir, Enough, out Tuesday. In what seems to be a rite of passage for public-facing conservative women, Hutchinson is fielding rumors that she once dated Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.)—rumors pushed by Gaetz himself. In a Monday night interview, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow read aloud excerpts from Hutchinson’s book describing uncomfortable encounters with Gaetz, before telling Hutchinson that Gaetz denied these incidents and claimed they’d dated for a few weeks. To this, Hutchinson said, “I never dated Matt Gaetz. I have much higher standards in men.”

Gaetz, on Tuesday, responded to claims in Hutchinson’s book that he once told her she was a “national treasure” and asked her to escort him to his cabin at Camp David one night. “I don’t remember either of these events and based on Cassidy’s prior false statements, I doubt they occurred,” he told The Hill in a statement. “I did date Cassidy for a few weeks when we were both single years ago.” (Given that Hutchinson is currently 27, I’m naturally curious how many “years ago” Gaetz, 41, is talking about!) He then claimed the two “parted amicably and remained friends thereafter,” that Hutchinson “asked me to help her secure housing in South Florida because she was eager to continue working for President Trump” after his presidency, and opines that it’s “sad to see Cassidy dishonestly turn against so many people who cared about her for fame and book sales.” There truly seems to be no love lost between the two.

In any case, Hutchinson’s staunch denial of any intimacy between her and Gaetz is getting a lot of play right now—particularly among #Resistance Twitter. After all, the primary goal of this swath of the internet is to indiscriminately make a hero out of anyone, and I mean anyone, who vaguely goes against Trump and his cronies (even if it’s literally just to sell a book.) Sift through some of the replies to the clip of Hutchinson’s comments to Maddow on social media and you’ll find GIFs of a badass woman walking away from a fire, odes to Hutchinson’s “clarity,” and sprawling praise for her “integrity and humility.”

But let’s back up a bit: There’s nothing particularly brave about declaring to the world that you’re uninterested in dating a man who was previously investigated for alleged human trafficking, allegedly had an illegal sexual encounter with a 17-year-old, and, more recently, was protested by concerned parents and local officials for hosting an event at a high school whilst under investigation for the aforementioned trafficking. Like Hutchinson, I have much higher (though admittedly still low) standards, too, and I can proudly say I never worked as an aide in the Trump White House—where is my Presidential Medal of Freedom???

Hutchinson seemingly alluded to the allegations against Gaetz while speaking to Maddow: “I do not think that Matt Gaetz has the best track record for relationships,” she said, before further unloading on the Congressman. “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,” Hutchinson continued, referencing Gaetz and other far-right House Republicans’ threats to shut down the government over fringe demands surrounding the federal budget.

Hutchinson conceded that she and Gaetz have been “good friends” at different points, an admission that probably isn’t going to help with dispelling the dating rumors, but concluded, “I don’t really have much else to say to somebody that is more concerned about a sound bite than actually passing legislation.”

Well, there you have it: Hutchinson is not dating Matt Gaetz. Apparently, like most women, she seems to find trafficking allegations and cyberbullying a teenage girl a bit of a turn-off.

Over the last several weeks, excerpts of Hutchinson’s memoir have alleged that Rudy Giuliani groped her on Jan. 6, 2021, and that former President Trump’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows burned so many documents after the 2020 presidential election that his suit smelled “like a bonfire.” I think we can simultaneously recognize the value of her 2022 testimony and truth-telling, and that anyone worth valorizing would never have wanted to work as an aide to a president who once floated jailing abortion patients, in the first place.