Maggie Haberman: ‘Hard to See’ Trump Run for President Again If if He’s Dealing With a Criminal Trial in 18 Months

Maggie Haberman assessed that it could be difficult for former President Donald Trump to have a future in politics while he’s tied up in the legal developments surrounding Allen Weisselberg.

The New York Times reporter appeared on Thursday with CNN’s New Day to break down the news that Weisselberg, chief financial officer to the Trump Organization, has surrendered to the Manhattan district attorney’s office after being indicted in their long-running tax investigation. As Haberman dealt with questions on the likelihood of Weisselberg flipping on Trump, she said that her own question was whether or not Trump will try to distance himself from Weisselberg now.

“That would be very hard to do with the CFO of your company who has been there for decades and seen everything,” said Haberman. “I just think it would be extremely hard to do and I think Donald Trump is aware of that.”

Haberman went on by advising caution, saying “what this looks like going forward, I think is a huge open question, and anyone making declarations right now this morning at 6:00 A.M. before we have seen this indictment I think is making a mistake.” John Berman acknowledged her point, but he also asked Haberman what she makes of Trump’s “reality show answer” to Fox News’s Sean Hannity on whether he’ll run for the White House again.

Haberman said she’s actually doubtful Trump knows what he’ll do, though she acknowledged he might be able to fuel support for himself if he announces his next White House bid in the middle of the indictment of his company. She also pointed out that by 2024, Trump “will be much older,” and “if he’s dealing with the reality of a trial in 18 months and the New York court system moves pretty slowly, it’s hard to see somebody running for president with a trial playing out of how their company did business.”

Watch above, via CNN.