Orrin Hatch thinks Trump is a 'much better person today' than he was in 2016


Should you find yourself about to criticize President Trump, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) would like you to pause and remember the man Trump used to be.
On Wednesday, one day after Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former personal lawyer Michael Cohen both became convicted felons, Hatch decided to focus instead on Trump being a different person compared to who he was on The Apprentice. "Eight years ago to 10 years ago, Trump was not what I consider to be a pillar of virtue," he told The New York Times. "I think he has changed a lot of his life once he was elected. I think Trump is a much better person today than he was then." He did not elaborate on what led him to come to this conclusion.
Hatch did say he finds that Americans are willing to overlook Trump's flaws because he "comes from a different world. He comes from New York City, he comes from a slam-bang, difficult world. It is amazing he is as good as he is. If anything, you have to give him plaudits for the way he has run the country as president."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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