Prominent media figures took to Twitter to vent their anxiety over former President Donald Trump calling on Americans to protest his potential arrest and "take our country back."
Many pundits associated Trump’s message, which he put out over Truth Social, as a call to violence and more "January 6 talk," referencing the Capitol riot that happened in January 2021.
The former President put out a lengthy Truth Social message decrying the news that the New York DA is likely to arrest him next week. Reports have indicated that Trump is could be indicted over hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels he made while he was a presidential candidate in 2016.
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After speaking with a court source, Fox News Digital reported Friday that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office is planning to meet "with law enforcement to ‘discuss logistics for some time next week, which would mean that they are anticipating an indictment next week.’"
Trump ripped into the news in an indignant, all-caps post Saturday morning, during which he also acknowledged he might very well be detained.
He wrote, "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!"
Journalists fixated on Trump’s last phrase about protesting and taking back the nation, claiming this was clearly a push for civil unrest.
Politico Senior legal affairs reporter Kyle Cheney tweeted about the developments, writing, "Predicting imminent charges against him in Manhattan, Trump called on supporters Saturday to ‘take our nation back,’ an ominous exhortation reminiscent of his Jan. 6 calls."
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He added, "Lots of similarities to 1/6 calls by Trump, including giving backers a target day to gather. But unlike two years ago, there’s no natural place to convene, or even a certainty that Tuesday is the correct day."
"American Whitelash" author and journalist Wesley Lowery noted, "a major risk in indicting Trump has always been that there are millions of people who (baselessly) believe him the country’s legitimate leader and millions more who see him as the head of their movement - portion of whom have shown they are willing to attempt a coup if he asks."
Presidential historian and NBC News pundit Michael Beschloss wondered, "Will social media be available to amplify him if he calls for national violence?"
The Independent columnist Ahmed Baba wrote, "Trump tells his supporters to protest and ‘take our nation back.’ Law enforcement better be prepared this time because that’s January 6 talk."
HuffPost senior editor Philip Lewis said, "’Protest, take our nation back’ is not politician speak. That is Trump calling for violence, and that is clear."
MSNBC contributor David Corn commented, "And in recent posts he has excused or dismissed the violence of January 6. He is an authoritarian willing to (again) use violence for his own ends. That is a threat to the nation."
The Lincoln Project founder Rick Wilson remarked on Trump’s statement on the arrest and potential protests, tweeting, "Will be wild."
