'Like brainwashing': Former Trump official stunned at his hold on supporters

Donald Trump supporters' adulation for the former president is tantamount to "brainwashing," said former Trump press secretary Stephanie Grisham on CNN Monday.

This comes after Trump held a rally in Waco, Texas, under a cloud of accusations that he picked the venue to send a message to extremist militia groups, and as his supporters remain defiant in the face of his likely impending indictment in New York — a problem he is now trying to capitalize on, Grisham argued.

"This is just typical him, trying to deflect and get people to just pay attention to him," said Grisham. "Honestly, this is what he does. He distracts people ... he has no idea what's going on, so he's going to continue to play the victim and fundraise and take advantage of the people who really, really believe in him."

"Well, that's a sad thing, though," said anchor Don Lemon. "It's because he's raised a lot of money off of this, especially since last week when he said it's going to happen on Tuesday, and now it has been dropped. He is continuing to raise money here and using people who, you know, believe him to get their money. I mean, why? Why do they continue to believe him when he has no evidence of any of it, but his pockets are getting heavier?"

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"You know, I mean, as somebody who worked for him and believed in him for a while, I think that there are still so many people out there who see him as a regular person, and it's like a brainwashing," said Grisham. "I can't even describe it to you as I've been out of it for two years, and I sit back and watch. I feel the same disbelief that I just heard in your voice. But there's so many people who believe that he really wants the best for this country and that aren't seeing, for whatever reason, that he really just wants the best for himself."

"I think it's also important to highlight, though, what we're seeing on the ground because ... he had this rally in Waco, Texas, on Saturday," said anchor Kaitlan Collins. "The former president did. There were a lot of people there. There was a lot of enthusiasm around it. So we hear a lot of Republicans — not a lot, but Republicans — who predicted Trump's influence over the party is fading. It's clearly still there."

Watch the video below or at this link.

Stephanie Grisham says Trump supporters are "brainwashed" www.youtube.com