New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman gave a glimpse into how Donald Trump reacted to his indictment on charges related to his efforts to cling to power despite losing the 2020 presidential election.
While Trump teased the news himself in a post on social media saying criminal charges were imminent, the bombshell indictment still “rattled him,” Haberman said.
“He loves to project bravado,” Haberman told CNN’s “The Source.” “He also loves to be in control and have every moment that happens in his life exist on his terms.”
“That’s why he has tried to narrate his own indictments,” she added.
Habeman said, though, that Trump was privately “very angry.”
“He’s much more rattled than he is projecting being,” Haberman said. “Everything with him is about appearances and he wants to give off the appearance that everything is fine.”
The 45-page indictment charges Trump with four felonies, including conspiracy to defraud the United States. It’s the third time he’s been indicted on felony charges in four months.
Haberman added that people close to Trump also were upset by the indictment, and worried what evidence might surface if charges are brought against more people, including the six unnamed individuals cited in the indictment for aiding the former president with his attempted coup.
“On the one hand they were relieved reading this indictment that there were not more details that they didn’t know” about, Haberman said. “On the other, there was a reference to six co-conspirators, and that raises questions about: Will anyone else face charges and will more details be revealed if that happens?”