Gov. Chris Sununu, R-N.H., believes that Democrats are only "building sympathy" for former President Trump as he faces a possible indictment and that an arrest would "drastically change" the course of the 2024 presidential race in his favor.
While Trump was campaigning for president in 2016, his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, reportedly paid adult film actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about an alleged 2006 affair with the former president. Trump reimbursed Cohen for the entirety of the payment, leading the Manhattan District Attorney to spearhead a years-long investigation into the former president.
On Saturday, Trump said that he would soon be arrested by DA Alvin Bragg in connection to hush money claims.
Sununu, who is considering taking on Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination, said that an indictment could ultimately backfire on Democrats, with the idea that an arrest would only rile up support for Trump's campaign rather than scare voters away.
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"I think it’s building a lot of sympathy for the former president," Sununu, said during an appearance on CNN’s "State of the Union" Sunday. "I just think that not just the media, but really, a lot of the Democrats have misplayed this in terms of building sympathy for the former president, and it does drastically change the paradigm as we go into the 2024 election."
Elon Musk, CEO of Twitter, also predicted a Trump indictment would guarantee the former president a victory in the 2024 election. "If this happens, Trump will be re-elected in a landslide victory," Musk wrote Saturday.
During the media appearance, Sununu added that while Trump's hush money allegations are important to look into, there are more significant issues facing the country that should take precedence.
"There’s a question about why they’re doing it, something seven years ago. It’s not a nothing, but it’s moving money and how he claimed money being moved between him and his lawyer," the Republican governor said. "You know, there are other issues that really take precedence in terms of where this country needs to go, what we need to do to get stuff done, how we manage our budget, how we secure the border."
Following the news of a possible arrest, the Manhattan DA faced backlash for reportedly seeking to indict the former president, while failing to crack down on violent crime facing his city.
"Alvin Bragg is abusing his office to target President Trump while he’s reduced a majority of felonies, including violent crimes, to misdemeanors. He has different rules for political opponents. Republicans stopped the radical DC crime law, and we will investigate any use of federal funds that are used to facilitate the perversion of justice by Soros-backed DA’s across the country," House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., posted on Twitter Sunday.
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., agreed that the DA "should focus on the violent criminals terrorizing New York instead of pursuing politically motivated charges against @realDonaldTrump."
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Trump initially broke the news of a possible indictment Saturday, claiming that "illegal leaks" suggest he will be arrested Tuesday.
"NOW ILLEGAL LEAKS FROM A CORRUPT & HIGHLY POLITICAL MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEYS OFFICE, WHICH HAS ALLOWED NEW RECORDS TO BE SET IN VIOLENT CRIME & WHOSE LEADER IS FUNDED BY GEORGE SOROS, INDICATE THAT, WITH NO CRIME BEING ABLE TO BE PROVEN, & BASED ON AN OLD & FULLY DEBUNKED (BY NUMEROUS OTHER PROSECUTORS!) FAIRYTALE, THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE & FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!," Trump wrote on his Truth Social page.
After Trump called on his supporters to "protest" an indictment, the NYPD began building a barricade outside the DA's office.
A Trump spokesperson later reiterated the former president's claims. "There has been no notification, other than illegal leaks from the Justice Dept. and the DA’s office, to NBC and other fake news carriers, that the George Soros-funded Radical Left Democrat prosecutor in Manhattan has decided to take his Witch-Hunt to the next level."
At this time, the Manhattan DA has neither confirmed nor denied the possibility of an indictment.
