GOP Gov. warns of ‘history repeating itself’ with another Jan. 6 event if Trump is indicted

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said no one wants a repeat of Jan. 6, but warned there will be a “political circus” at least around a possible Trump impeachment.

Donald Trump said he expects to be arrested Tuesday in the culmination of a New York district attorney case related to his hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.

The former president called on his supporters to protest his impending impeachment, raising fears that there could be another politically violent event like the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

“If someone calls for protests, you should always make sure they are peaceful,” the Republican governor told CNN’s State of the Union show on Sunday. And we know that’s going to happen. And that has happened before. In the long history, in the recent history of the United States, people are always protesting what they see as a wrongful arrest or wrongful prosecution.

“But you want to make sure it’s peaceful,” he insisted. “We don’t want history to repeat itself in too negative a way.”

Despite stating that it is everyone’s responsibility to make sure they act in ways that have a positive impact and do not turn violent, Sununu conceded that there will likely be chaos surrounding any impeachment or arrest of Trump.

‘You can’t blame the former president: it’s our responsibility, in society, in our communities, to make sure that if we have something to say, we’re doing it the right way and making sure we’re having a positive effect on the future,” he said.

‘But it’s going to be a circus, right? It’s going to be some kind of political circus,” said the New Hampshire governor. ‘There are going to be a lot of unknowns.’

Trump has already stopped in New Hampshire as part of his 2024 bid for the Republican nomination. Others, including yet to be announced Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have also visited the early primary state.

The only announced and potential candidates so far who have spoken out against the impending impeachment are former Vice President Mike Pence and biotech billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy.

Trump has called on the 2024 candidates, both official and unofficial, to weigh in on the matter, claiming it is a politicization and weaponization of the judicial systems to prosecute an opposition party leader.

Many Republicans have denounced the case and the potential impeachment as politically charged.

Pence told ABC’s This Week on Sunday that the entire hush money payment case against Trump is a “politically charged prosecution.”

There are much more pressing matters of the day. It is unfortunate that this has grabbed the headlines,” Sununu said Sunday morning as he dominates the news of a possible impeachment against Trump and sparks speculation that it has only bolstered his support and momentum in the 2024 race.

Trump announced this week that he will hold a 2024 campaign rally in Waco, Texas, on Saturday, which could be complicated if he is arrested or charged.

Over the weekend, the former president called on his supporters to protest, writing on his Truth Social platform: ‘WE CANNOT ALLOW THIS ANYMORE. THEY ARE KILLING OUR NATION WHILE WE SIT AND WATCH. WE MUST SAVE AMERICA! PROTEST, PROTEST, PROTEST!!!’

“I think he’s generating a lot of sympathy for the former president,” Sununu said of the escalation of the Manhattan district attorney’s case. “I think the fact that I was having coffee this morning with a few people, and none of them were big supporters of Trump, but they all said they felt like he was being attacked.”

And, as you pointed out, it’s probably some kind of misdemeanor about a matter from seven years ago. This has nothing to do with January 6th. There are people who still think that this has something to do with January 6,” she added.

‘So, I think, not just the media, but a lot of Democrats have misinterpreted this, in terms of building sympathy for the former president. And it drastically changes the paradigm as we move into the ‘choice of 24’.