McCarthy breaks with Trump on call for protests over possible arrest

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) disagreed with former President Donald Trump on Sunday over his call for supporters to protest in response to the possible arrest this week.

During a press conference at the House Republican retreat in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday, McCarthy was asked about the former president’s call for supporters to “protest, take our nation back” and his prediction of an indictment from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.

“I don’t think people should protest this, no,” McCarthy said. “And I think President Trump, if you talk to him, he doesn’t believe that, either.”

“Nobody should harm one another,” he added later.

On Saturday, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that the Manhattan DA’s office would arrest him this week on charges related to hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016. This statement follows a growing number of reports about Bragg’s plans to indict him on charges related to the Stormy Daniels matter.

Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, testified before Congress in 2019 that he paid Daniels, an adult film star whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, $130,000 during the 2016 campaign to prevent her from going public about an alleged affair with Trump in 2005. Cohen, who pleaded guilty and served time over the alleged payment, told lawmakers that Trump reimbursed him in monthly installments.

The charges that Bragg’s office is mulling against Trump are unclear. Prosecutors in the Cohen case alleged that the Trump Organization “falsely accounted” for the monthly payments as legal expenses. Falsifying business records in New York technically amounts to a misdemeanor. To elevate it to a low-level felony, prosecutors in the Trump case must show that the conduct was committed in connection with another crime and the former president’s “intent to defraud.”

Without mentioning Trump’s post by name, Politico reported Saturday evening Bragg sent an email to employees stating that “we do not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York. Our law enforcement partners will ensure that any specific or credible threats against the office will be fully investigated and that the proper safeguards are in place so all 1,600 of us have a secure work environment.”

Trump’s Truth Social post urged his supporters to “protest, take our nation back.”