Former Trump economic adviser says he’s ‘anti-protest’ over former president’s potential arrest

Former Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn said he is “anti-protest” in response to former President Trump calling for his supporters to demonstrate against what he said was his looming arrest in connection to a New York state investigation.

“I’m anti-protest, so I don’t think we should be protesting anything,” Cohn said in an interview with CBS’s “Face The Nation.” “I hope that America has learned from what has happened in the past and I hope whatever happens next week, we just have a very peaceful set of events.”

Cohn, who also used to be the head of Goldman Sachs, was responding to Trump’s comments that he would be arrested this week in the Manhattan probe into hush payments to adult-film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. 

Trump blasted the investigation as corrupt, with other Republicans saying any arrest would be a politically motivated move, framing it as an attempt to interfere in the former president’s 2024 White House bid. Others have said the possible arrest shows that no one in the U.S. is above the law. Cohn said he thinks both may be the case.

“When it comes to this, no one is above the law,” Cohn said. “But there also may be some politics involved, so both of those things may be true.”

Trump calling for his supporters to protest the possible arrest sparked fears of violence, as Trump’s call for his supporters to protest the certification of the 2020 election came before the deadly Capitol riot on Jan. 6. 

Other Republicans, such as former Vice President Mike Pence, joined Cohn in calling for peace amid a possible indictment of Trump, with Pence saying “violence will not be tolerated.”