Republicans are weary of Donald Trump’s calls for protest as the former president believes he will be arrested this week in connection with years of paying hush money to a porn star.
Mr Trump has called on his supporters to protest and “take back our nation!” warnings of caution on Sunday from prominent conservatives who say they do not want a repeat like the violent attack on the US Capitol.
“When someone is calling for a protest, you always want to make sure it’s peaceful. We don’t want history to repeat itself in an overly negative way,” New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, said on CNN’s State of the Union. “It’s going to be a bit of a political circus.”
Former Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn said he was “against protest”.
“I’m anti-protest, so I don’t think we should be protesting anything,” he said on CBS’ Face The Nation.
“I hope America has learned from what has happened in the past, and I hope whatever happens next week, we just have a very peaceful series of events,” he said.
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New York City is bracing for a possible outcry over the Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation into whether Mr. Trump may have violated finance laws when he paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to settle a reported extramarital affair ahead of the 2016 election be silent.
The ex-president has said he expects to be charged, but it’s not clear what led him to that conclusion.
Meanwhile, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, remains secretive other than saying he “will not tolerate any attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York.”
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said the episode depicted a political “circus.”
“The circus continues. He only profits and does well in chaos and turmoil. So he wants to create the chaos and turmoil on his terms. He doesn’t want someone else’s terms…he wants it on his terms,” Mr. Christie, a Republican, said on ABC’s This Week. “But look at the ending. Being accused doesn’t help anyone.”
Anthony Cole, a former Justice Department official, called Mr. Trump’s comments during an appearance on MSNBC an attempt to “intimidate local prosecutors” and “poison” the jury.
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Source : www.washingtontimes.com