Former Pence advisor says Trump referred to supporters as ‘disgusting people’

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Olivia Troye, a “lifelong Republican” and former advisor to ex-Vice President Mike Pence, said that she is speaking at the Democratic National Convention because she does not want Donald Trump to be president again – claiming that he treated his supporters poorly.

Once someone who believed in Trump, Troye told CNN on Wednesday that witnessing the former president’s behavior turned her away from supporting him. She told CNN host Jim Acosta that she witnessed Trump say negative things about his supporters.

“I was in the room when [Trump] said ‘I don’t want to shake hands with those dirty people, those disgusting people’,” Troye said, referencing an alleged moment in 2020 when Trump said he was grateful the pandemic caused restrictions on handshakes.

Troye said Trump “doesn’t care” about his supporters and has “complete disregard”.

“What really breaks my heart is just how much they rally around someone who just doesn’t care about them,” Troye told Jim Acosta.

Troye, who served as Pence’s Homeland Security and Counterterrorism advisor until August 2020, has been an outspoken critic of the former president since leaving her job.

Over the years, she has shared details about her experience in the Trump administration, saying she witnessed Trump use “disparaging” words to describe his supporters and “relished” the events of January 6.

Her comments echoed that of her former colleague Stephanie Grisham, who served as White House Press Secretary and Chief of Staff to Melania Trump.

Grisham, who was also invited to speak at the DNC, told a crowd on Tuesday evening that “behind closed doors, Trump mocks his supporters” specifically calling them “basement dwellers” – something Troye affirmed.

During Grisham’s speech, she painted Trump as unempathetic, claiming that one time Trump was, “mad that the cameras were not watching him” while he was visiting patients in the intensive care unit in El Paso.

Troye told Acosta on Wednesday that Grisham was referring to victims of the 2019 El Paso shooting.

“We know what Donald Trump really is,” Troye said. “We’ve heard all the comments, everything he’s done. I’m here because I truly believe Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are going to take us down a better path.”