Alyssa Farah Griffin – a former White House aide who’s now a co-host on The View – has the internet buzzing after calling Donald Trump an ‘existential threat to democracy’ during a recent episode of the show. Her comments come on the heels of Trump’s demand for ‘presidential immunity.’ Here’s everything you need to know!
Farah Griffin Fears What Donald Trump Might Do As President
Griffin, along with the other co-hosts, was discussing the idea of ‘presidential immunity’ and what a second term would mean for the former President. She didn’t mince her words and agreed with President Joe Biden’s message – a vote for Trump is a vote to end democracy.
“Donald Trump is an existential threat to democracy. I believe that. I testified to the Department of Justice against him because I am afraid of him, I’m afraid of what he’ll do to this country,” she said – which are some strong words coming from one of Trump’s former assistants.
Griffin Was Assistant to the President Under Trump
Between 2017 and 2020, Alyssa Farah Griffin was press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence and the US Department of Defense, Special Assistant to President Trump, Assistant to the President, White House Director of Strategic Communications, and Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs.
After Trump’s term came to an end, Griffin joined CNN as a political contributor and started making guest appearances on The View – she was named a permanent co-host for Season 26 in August 2022. She has been a heavy critic of Trump ever since.
AFG: “No One Is As Dangerous As Donald Trump“
During her rant, Farah Griffin called out several Democratic leaders, such as Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, for trying to compare Trump to his two closest Republican competitors – former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (who recently backed out).
“But then I hear people, like prominent Democratic Gov. Pritzker, say, ‘Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley are just as dangerous as Trump,’ she said. “That is not true. You are playing into the hands of MAGA by saying that and by demonizing other Republicans. No one is as dangerous as Donald Trump.”
Internet Has Mixed Reactions After AFG’s Comments
As you can expect in society today, many Americans rushed to social media to share their opinions on AFG’s comments – and there were a lot of mixed feelings. On one hand, people trusted her judgment, especially since she has first-hand experience with the Trump administration.
On the other hand, many were quick to call her out for ‘changing her strips more often than her shirt,’ according to one user on X. Another user claimed that Griffin only worked under Donald Trump so she could get her 15 minutes of fame for bashing him later.
Griffin Supports Nikki Haley Over Trump As Republican Candidate
Griffin doesn’t seem to care what others say – she made it clear that she will support anyone in office over Donald Trump. That goes for Joe Biden (on the Democratic side) and Nikki Haley (if she can pull an upset over Trump).
“Nikki Haley versus Biden, even if she beats Biden, that is much better for our country than Donald Trump ever being in the White House,” Farah Griffin said on The View. Unfortunately, it’s looking more and more like Trump will, in fact, be the candidate fighting out of the red corner.
What Does A Haley VS. Trump Showdown Look Like?
As of January 23, only Iowa and New Hampshire have cast their votes – and Donald Trump won both states, gaining 20 in Iowa and 12 in New Hampshire. Meanwhile, Nikki Haley secured 9 delegates in New Hampshire and 8 delegates in Iowa. Trump is off to an early 32-17 lead.
At this rate, some experts are predicting a win for Trump in record time, but others aren’t ready to count Haley out. “This race is far from over. There are dozens of states left to go, and the next one is my sweet state of South Carolina,” she said after the most recent loss in New Hampshire.
So, What’s All This Talk About Presidential Immunity?
Trump is campaigning for more than just the White House. The former President is also campaigning for ‘presidential immunity’ – something he has been calling for since 2020, when he handed the White House to Joe Biden for four years. Now, he’s ramping up his rhetoric.
Trump recently posted a long rant on Truth Social warning of what might happen if Presidents aren’t given full immunity. He then appeared on The Sean Hannity Show, where he doubled down on his claim and added that future Presidents wouldn’t be able to make any real change without it.
What Does Presidential Immunity Mean?
Presidents already have some form of immunity from certain lawsuits and charges while in office, but that’s not exactly what Donald Trump is demanding – he wants full immunity. With ‘absolute immunity,’ a President couldn’t be prosecuted in a criminal case for actions he took while in office.
Many people oppose this idea, primarily because of the power it would give the President of the United States – essentially giving them a ‘get out of jail free’ card for any crimes they commit while in office. It would be an easy law to exploit, and one that would get exploited often.
Donald Trump Posts Wild Rant On Truth Social
On January 17, Donald Trump took to Truth Social and posted a long message (in all caps) regarding his demand for immunity – and why it’s so important. He argued that it would be impossible for any man or woman to ‘properly function’ as President without full immunity.
“Any mistake, even if well intended, would be met with almost certain indictment by the opposing party at term end,” he argued. “Even events that ‘cross the line’ must fall under total immunity, or it will be years of trauma trying to determine good from bad. There must be certainty.”
Trump Wants America To Be ‘Great, But Slightly Imperfect‘
Trump continued his message by comparing himself to a ‘rogue cop’ or ‘bad apple’ – essentially arguing that you can’t stop a police officer from doing their job just to try and prevent a bad cop from causing harm to the community.
“Sometimes you just have to live with ‘great, but slightly imperfect,” he continued – adding that the ‘authority and decisiveness’ of the Commander in Chief would be ‘stripped and gone forever’ without immunity. He ended the rant by hoping it would be an ‘easy decision’ from the Supreme Court.
Trump Talks To Sean Hannity About Immunity
The following day, Donald Trump appeared on The Sean Hannity Show to talk about his latest run for President with New Hampshire voters hitting the ballot. At the end, he was given a chance to speak to those voters, but he instead used it as an opportunity to talk about the Supreme Court’s immunity decision.
He argued that he’s not only asking for immunity for himself – he wants it for all the Presidents to come in the future. Without immunity, he says the President won’t be able to do anything because ‘when he leaves office, the opposing party … will indict the president for doing something that should’ve been good.”
Why Does Donald Trump Need Presidential Immunity?
The real question is, why doesn’t Trump need presidential immunity? Between April and August 2023, Trump was charged in four different cases in four different states – 4 felony counts in Washington D.C., 13 felony counts in Georgia, 34 felony counts in New York, and 40 felony counts in Florida.
Perhaps the most prominent of those are the four federal counts in Washington D.C. – which were brought forward by special counsel Jack Smith. These counts refer to Trump’s campaign to overturn the election after losing the Presidency to Joe Biden’
Jack Smith Responds To Donald Trump’s Immunity Claim
Towards the end of 2023, Jack Smith commented on Trump’s claim that Presidents should have full immunity. While Trump is arguing that not having immunity is ‘shattering the very bedrock of our Republic,’ Smith believes it’s the other way around – it’s Trump that’s threatening the bedrock of democracy, not immunity.
He further argues that such immunity would allow the President to ‘accept bribes’ while in office, instruct the FBI to plant evidence against an opponent, or even sell nuclear secrets to a foreign adversary. “The implications of the defendant’s broad immunity theory are sobering,” Smith continued.
Internet Has Mixed Reactions About Donald Trump
As always, Donald Trump is going to have a lot of supporters online, but he’s also going to face a lot of criticism along the way – and that’s what happened with his recent immunity remarks, with one user asking why Donald Trump needs immunity if he claims to be innocent.
Others alluded to how scared Trump seems – claiming his entire campaign is centered around fear of what might happen if he is prosecuted in court. “For 235 years, we had Presidents, some good, some bad, who led the country without absolute immunity. The only reason Trump needs it is because he’s guilty and he knows it,” wrote another user on X.
