Former President Donald Trump's indictment is "terrifying" and a "chilling prospect for anyone in public life," said Meghan McCain.
"The federal indictment of a president is a shattering and seismic moment — but unlike grave crises that brought us together, this will rip us apart. And it's terrifying," McCain wrote in a column for the Daily Mail.
Trump on Thursday was indicted related to the mishandling of classified documents at his Florida estate.
The indictment marks the first time in U.S. history that a former president faces criminal charges by the federal government he once oversaw. Trump faces the possibility of prison if convicted.
The indictment alleges Trump kept classified documents in the bathroom and shower at his Florida estate, as well as various other locations that included a ballroom, storeroom, office, and bedroom.
McCain, a former co-host of "The View" and the daughter of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said the country has "weathered moments — even traumatic — before."
"Richard Nixon's resignation showed the country that their president was, in fact, a crook. The Sept. 11 attacks revealed our powerful nation to be incredibly vulnerable. The Jan. 6 riots exposed the gaping rifts that had torn open between us all.
"But in these instances, a great majority of Americans rallied together and recognized common cause."
She also insinuated that there is no common cause in Trump's case and blamed the Biden administration for undermining "the public's right to choose its own leader."
"If this reported seven-count federal indictment against Trump does not reveal a crime so shocking that it unites Americans in universal condemnation of him, then I fear there may be no coming back," McCain wrote.
According to the indictment, which was unsealed Friday, the former president faces 37 counts.
"There's no denying that they've put their thumbs on the scale," she wrote, adding that the 2024 election will be nothing more than a "referendum on Trump's guilt or innocence."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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