CNN anchor John King was ridiculed for claiming special counsel Jack Smith’s mundane lunch run for a Subway sandwich was some sort of “message” to former President Donald Trump.
King’s head-scratching assessment Tuesday came after Smith sent Trump a target letter indicating that he could face charges related to the Jan. 6 riot.
“Jack Smith going to Subway today is a message to Donald Trump,” King said while showing a now-viral video of Smith leaving a Subway location in Washington, D.C. with a sandwich in a paper bag.
“Donald Trump tries to intimidate people. He tries to bully people. He tries to scare you away,” King continued.
“That was Jack Smith, with no words and a simple $5 sub in his hand, saying ‘I’m here. I’m not going anywhere,’”
Social media users quickly slammed King.
“Sometimes a sandwich is just a sandwich,” one user wrote, while another called the interpretation “beyond pathetic.”
Another tweeted: “Now, if he’d got a Whopper, that would be a different message altogether….” — a reference to Trump love for McDonald’s Big Macs.
A user sarcastically chimed in: “Wow! The guy actually eats his own lunch! What a revelation! CNN takes investigation to a whole new level. Really?”
And yet another sneered: “But what kind of sub did he order? His choice of condiments et al will give even more details on the message he is sending.”
It was the first time the attorney was seen since Trump revealed on Truth Social that Smith sent him a letter informing him that he was target of his Capitol attack investigation.
Smith was swarmed by a flurry of paparazzi as he left the restaurant flanked by security guards.
As he made his way to his vehicle, Smith stayed tight-lipped on questions regarding his Jan. 6 investigation.
Trump, 77, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, decried on his social media platform: “Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden’s DOJ, sent a letter (again, it was Sunday night!) stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6th Grand Jury investigation, and giving me a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment.”
He also referenced the target letter during a town hall on Tuesday hosted by Fox News’ Sean Hannity in front of an audience of Iowa voters.
Trump bashed the Justice Department during the event as an “absolute weapon,” adding that it “bothers” him that Smith is taking aim at him during the federal grand jury investigation.
It’s unclear what precisely Trump would be charged with in relation to the events of Jan. 6 — though possibilities include obstructing an official proceeding, conspiracy to commit election fraud by authorizing slates of “fake” electors to pledge their votes to him or knowingly soliciting money under false pretenses by claiming to need funding for legal challenges.
Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland as the Department of Justice’s special counsel in November 2022, and was tasked with probing Trump’s actions leading up and during the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
His investigation also involves Trump’s handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago, Fla., estate.
On Tuesday, a federal judge signaled that the trial related to the confidential documents would not start until sometime next year.
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
