Former White House staffer says she is “definitely worried” Donald Trump summoned supporters over the weekend to voice their disapproval at his indictment
In several all-caps screeds on his social media platform Saturday, the former president said he expected to be arrested on Tuesday at the direction of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office. Bragg has been investigating Trump’s role in a hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016.
“Protest, take our nation back,” Trump shared this with his followers. He also stated that he had said the following in a separate post. “evil & sinister people” were “killing our nation as we sit back and watch.”
“We must save America! Protest, protest, protest!!!” He wrote.
Sarah Matthews, who was deputy White House press secretary during the Trump administration, was asked during an appearance Tuesday on CNN if she was worried about the former president’s rhetoric.
“Definitely worried,” Matthews, who quit the Trump government on Jan. 6, 2021 after the insurrection of the U.S. Capitol, said that Matthews. “I think it goes to show he’s learned nothing in the aftermath of Jan. 6. The rhetoric he was using was similar to the rhetoric he used around Jan. 6. I think in his Truth Social post he said that they needed to protest to ‘take back our nation.’”
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“And so it does concern me to see him using that kind of rhetoric that could lead to a violent uptick,” She said this according to the clip from her interview that was published by Mediaite.
Matthews stated that she believes the reaction from supporters will be muted, however, than on January 6, 2021.
Matthews gave evidence last summer before the House committee investigating the Capitol Riot. She told the select committee that Trump didn’t want to include any mention of peace in his tweets to rioters and that if he had wanted to make a public address from the press briefing room, he could have walked there in less than 60 seconds.
