Maggie Haberman Says Trump Trial is GOP Field’s ‘Best Bet’ To Beat Him: ‘Explain To Me What’s Going To Stop Him’

New York Times correspondent and CNN analyst Maggie Haberman said Special Counsel Jack Smith’s case against ex-President Donald Trump is the GOP field’s “best bet” to beat Trump, otherwise, “explain to me what’s going to stop him.”

Trump’s lawyers laid out the case for delaying the trial in a court filing this week, but so far  Judge Aileen Cannon — a Trump appointee — has only granted a four-day delay of a preliminary hearing.

On Monday afternoon’s edition of CNN’s The Lead, anchor Jake Tapper asked Haberman and CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins about the delay tactic, and what the effect would be if the trial were to start right before the Iowa caucuses:

TAPPER: So, Maggie, obviously, Trump is out there saying that every time he gets indicted, his poll numbers go up, and there is some validity to that. But in December, if there is this classified documents case begins there and let’s just remember, this is a case that has been bashed by his former defense secretary, his former attorney general, his former chief of staff John Kelly and on and on and on, do you think that taking place one month before the Iowa caucuses could actually maybe hurt him?

HABERMAN: That’s the big X factor to me, Jake. We have not seen a dynamic where he is having to face evidence being presented every day, witnesses testifying every day. It would also depend on how much it’s breaking through, and how much voters care and what else is happening in the world.

But I do think it’s an unknown. It’s certainly something the other candidates who are competing against him in the Republican primary and in the Iowa caucuses are hoping will happen. They are hoping that this trial takes place before the caucuses. That is in some ways their best bet, because otherwise, I guess you have to explain to me what’s going to stop him.

We don’t know what’s going to happen. Predictions are not of much value, as we know. But so far, it’s two indictments and it has done nothing to shake his voters. So we’ll see if an actual trial is a thing that does that.

Watch above via CNN’s The Lead.