The first time Mark Meadows became intoxicated from alcohol was after he accidentally drank three White Claws in mid-November 2020, according to his former top aide Cassidy Hutchinson.
In her new memoir, Enough, Ms Hutchinson reveals what it was like working for Mr Meadows, who served as White House chief of staff under Donald Trump from March 2020 until January 2021.
Between her more serious claims of a chaotic work environment, Ms Hutchinson gave readers some insight into a lighthearted moment where Mr Meadows unknowingly drank alcohol.
Mr Meadows, a “dedicated and faithful” practicing Southern Baptist, does not drink alcohol and apparently never had until the moment he pulled a White Claw from his office refrigerator believing it to be a non-alcoholic seltzer.
In her book, Ms Hutchinson says a staffer put some of the hard seltzers in the refrigerator to celebrate after the 2020 election but forgot to remove leftover cans.
While taking a meeting with Russ Vought, the ex-director of the Office of Management and Budget, on a Monday morning, Mr Meadows drank three of the White Claws to quench his thirst.
Ms Hutchinson and another staffer then informed Mr Meadows that what he actually did was consume three cans, each with 4.5 per cent alcohol by volume.
She recalls that the moment left her “laughing so hard” that there were “tears” in her eyes.
But the humour of the situation quickly dissipated after Mr Trump headed to his office early that morning to meet with staff including Mr Meadows.
Mr Meadows allegedly told Ms Hutchinson to tell the former president he was too busy to meet so he could “sober up.”
The anecdote is one of many that Ms Hutchinson gives in her new book that paints a picture of how the Trump administration functioned and then somewhat unraveled following the 2020 election.
Ms Hutchinson’s book deal comes a year after she testified to the January 6 House Committee investigating the matter. In her bombshell testimony, Ms Hutchinson revealed what went on in the White House before the attack on the Capitol and the insight some officials had before it occurred.
The Independent has reached out to Mr Meadows for comment.
