Former President Donald Trump continues to see allies "turning against him" as he contends with legal turmoil and attempts to retake the White House, according to legal analyst Glenn Kirschner on Saturday.
Trump is currently seeking the Republican nomination for president in 2024 and a second term in the Oval Office, and is leading all other confirmed or likely candidates in polls by substantial margins. He is also, however, facing numerous legal battles, including a criminal indictment in New York City and a probe from the Department of Justice (DOJ) over his alleged involvement in attempting to overturn the 2020 election. Meanwhile, Trump has maintained his innocence in all cases against him.
These and other factors have led a handful of Republicans and conservative figures to question Trump's viability as a lawmaker and his overall influence on the party. Some of those speaking out now previously served as officials in the Trump administration, like former Attorney General Bill Barr. During a recent interview with Fox News contributor Geraldo Rivera, Barr said that Trump is unable to enact the policies that he claims to support and said that a second term in office for him would be a "horror show."
"If you believe in his policies—what he's advertising to be his policies—he's the last person that could actually execute them and achieve them," Barr said. "He does not have the discipline, he does not have the ability for strategic thinking or linear thinking, or setting priorities, or how to get things done in the system. It is a horror show when he's left to his own devices. You may want his policies, but Trump will not deliver Trump policies. He will deliver chaos."
In a brief video about the quote from Barr posted to his official YouTube channel, Kirschner, a former federal prosecutor and now an outspoken legal analyst, summed it up as a "Trump bag man" admitting the "truth," and a sign that "even Trump's most devoted flunkies may finally be turning against him."
In a surprise twist, Bill Barr speaks the truth: says Trump is a "a horror show" & "will deliver chaos" if he returns to office. With Trump lackeys like Barr publicly denouncing him, might the dirty Republican red tide finally be truning? #JusticeMatters https://t.co/hRFiqZsmLi
— Glenn Kirschner (@glennkirschner2) May 6, 2023
"This from Bill Barr, who corrupted and weaponized the Department of Justice to do favors for Donald Trump's friends and criminal associates, and punish Donald Trump's enemies, if even Bill Barr is publicly admitting in direct terms that Donald Trump is dangerously unfit to serve, well then maybe the tide is turning," Kirschner added. "Maybe the dirty Republican red tide is actually turning."
In a post to Truth Social about Barr's comments, Trump dismissed his former attorney general as a "weak & slovenly man."
In a prior statement to Newsweek, a Trump spokesman also dismissed Kirschner's credibility as a legal analyst, claiming without evidence that his views were broadly dismissed by the legal community. When reached for additional comment about Barr's criticisms, a spokesman for Trump directed Newsweek to the previously mentioned Truth Social posts.
Update 5/9/23, 12:33 p.m. ET: This story was updated with a response from a Trump spokesman.
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Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more
