CNN’s Fareed Zakaria: I Doubt Hush Money Criminal Charges Would Have Been ‘Brought Against a Defendant Whose Name Was Not Donald Trump’

It’s become a daily ritual ahead of court proceedings in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial in New York for the ex-commander in chief to read off takes from conservative pundits and legal analysts who argue the case against him is frivolous and would not have been brought if it weren’t for his name. On Monday, there’s a good chance that an unlikely name will be joining the ranks of Jonathan Turley, Mark Levin, and the others who Trump has repeatedly cited.

In the opening monologue of Fareed Zakaria: GPS Sunday, host Fareed Zakaria argued that criminal charges would likely not have been brought Trump if he were anybody else. The CNN host made the remark as part of a commentary in which he argued that the Democratic party is currently fractured and the Republican party is united. And one of the reasons for the unity, according to Zakaria, is a widespread belief that the former president is getting a raw deal.

“The trials against [Trump] keep him in the spotlight, infuriate his base — who see him as a martyr and even may serve to make him the object of some sympathy among people in general who believe that his prosecutors are politically motivated,” Zakaria said. “This happens to be true, in my opinion. I doubt the New York indictment would have been brought against a defendant whose name was not Donald Trump.”

Zakaria went on to cite a recent CNN poll which found 56 percent of Americans are skeptical that Trump can receive a fair trial.

Watch above, via CNN.