Maggie Haberman Shatters the Notion Trump is Relishing His Potential Arrest, Even if it Helps Him Politically: He’s Not ‘Excited’ About Getting ‘Fingerprinted’
Even if there are political benefits for former President Donald Trump if he were to be arrested, that doesn’t mean he’s looking forward to it.
That’s according to Maggie Haberman — the New York Times correspondent who is widely considered the most plugged-in Trump-world reporter of all. Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday, Haberman — who is also a CNN political analyst — dispelled the notion Trump is somehow looking forward to facing charges, should he be indicted over the Stormy Daniels hush money payout scandal.
“He’s very anxious about the prospect of being indicted for a couple of reasons. Yes, two things can be true at once. He is aware that there are reasons to believe this could help him politically. We have heard a lot about this this morning already. But he does not want to face getting arrested, which is what happens when you get indicted. You get fingerprinted, you get brought in, you have to ask for bail. None of that is something that he’s excited about.”
Haberman noted that Trump and his team are preparing what she described as a “huge blitz” politically, should the former president be indicted. But for all the public bluster, Haberman says the Trump camp will treat the legal case more cautiously.
“While I know that his folks are suggesting this is a weak case, they don’t actually know what the evidence is,” Haberman said. “What it is is trivial compared to the other inquiries [in Georgia and on the federal level]. That doesn’t mean there won’t be a conviction, and they have to be mindful of that.”
The Times correspondent added the former president’s inner circle is concerned about the potential implications of Trump’s repeated calls for his supporters to protest, should he be placed under arrested as he’s predicting.
“Does he have any concern about violence?” CNN anchor Jake Tapper asked Haberman.
“No,” Haberman replied. “This is not something that he expresses enormous concern about to anyone. That doesn’t mean people around him are not concerned about what he’s saying about protest. And they are. Because as you know well, he is still under investigation. One of these inquiries by the Justice Department is about the events leading up to January 6th and his efforts to stay in power. And there have been lots of people, hundreds, arrested in connection with that attack on the Capitol.
“So this is not something he voices a lot of concern about, but it’s absolutely something folks in his world are mindful of, that will keep coming up, especially as he pushes this.”
Watch above, via CNN.
