NORTH CHARLESTON, South Carolina — The top Republican, who includes some of Donald Trump’s potential rivals for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination, said Saturday he was preparing for possible arrests. rushed to the defense of
“The idea of prosecuting a former president of the United States is very disturbing to me as it is to tens of millions of Americans,” said former Vice President Mike Pence, a likely rival of Trump. said during a visit to Iowa, an early voting state. Vivek Ramaswamy, a tech investor who is campaigning in South Carolina, said he doesn’t want to live in a country where “powerful parties can use their police force to arrest the opposition.”
The reaction is eager to convince voters that it’s time to move on from the former president, but an opposition candidate who has to contend with the fact that he remains the most popular figure within the party. highlights the political risks facing The multiple investigations Trump is facing — his social media posts about the Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation led to public statements of support — have been wildly unpopular with his supporters, making Trump too unpopular. Criticizing him too harshly runs the risk of alienating his loyal base.
Last summer, Trump drew similar support after the FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago club as part of an investigation into his handling of classified documents. The search also proved a boon for funding.
Among Trump’s defenders is House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who said the potential indictment was against Trump’s “radical DA law that neglects violent criminals in pursuit of political revenge.” Abuse of external power,” he said.
Republican McCarthy, CA urges relevant Republican-led House committees to “immediately investigate whether federal funds are being used to subvert democracy by interfering in elections with politically-motivated prosecutions.” said to instruct. McCarthy does not endorse Trump’s White House campaign, but Trump helped secure the speakership after a controversial campaign that required multiple votes.
New York Rep. Ellis Stefanik, a third-ranked House Republican and an early Trump supporter, said the actions by the district attorney were “un-American.”
The comments came hours after Trump claimed in a social media post that he expected to be arrested next week. He said he was responding to media reports in his post and had no independent knowledge of the pending legal action.
Nonetheless, Trump declared in a message on his Truth Social network that “the remote leading Republican candidate and former president of the United States will be arrested next Tuesday.” He then called out to his supporters, “Protest, Protest, Protest!!!” Remember the plea he made before the deadly riot at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
If Trump’s comments could provoke violence, the reaction could shift. But on Saturday, some of Trump’s declared potential rivals were quick to condemn the district attorney’s investigation.
Pence, who has escalated criticism of the former president in recent weeks, said the news was particularly troubling, noting that “political tensions in New York, where the Attorney General and other elected officials literally campaigned It looks like it’s happening in a controlled environment,” he said. I promise to indict the former president. ”
“No one is above the law,” he added. “I am confident that President Trump can take care of himself. My focus will continue to be on issues affecting Americans.”
Pence was irresponsible Thursday when asked whether Trump should resign if he is indicted.
“I think it’s a free country. Everyone can make their own decisions,” he said.
Mr Trump has said he will continue the presidential campaign even if he is indicted.
Mr Ramaswamy, who has already announced his candidacy, called on Mr Bragg to “reconsider”.
“Trump indictment will be a national disaster,” Ramaswamy tweeted. “It is un-American for the ruling party to use police power to arrest political rivals.”
Representatives for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, another potential candidate seen as Trump’s most serious rival, did not immediately respond when reached for comment on Saturday – Trump Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who was declared another candidate, did not mention the investigation while campaigning in South Carolina.
Ramaswamy asked Haley and DeSantis to join him in denouncing possible charges.
Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, who won the Trump-backed election in 2022, said reporters asked him if he would withdraw his support for the Trump campaign if indicted.
“The answer is absolutely no. Politically motivated prosecutions make Trump’s case stronger,” he tweeted. “If justice rests in politics, we have no real country.”
Prosecutors are investigating hush money paid to two women who allege they had sex with Trump decades ago. We have heard from witnesses, including former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who said he arranged payments to
Trump has denied the encounter and has investigated it as a “witch hunt” by Democratic prosecutors seeking to sabotage Trump’s recent presidential election. It states that
Longtime ally South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsay Graham said he agreed.
“New York prosecutors have been doing more to help Donald Trump get elected,” Graham said Saturday at the Vision ’24 conference in North Charleston, South Carolina. rice field. “They’re doing this because they’re afraid of Donald Trump.”
Story by Jill Colvin and Meg Kinnaird. Associated Press writers Holly Reimer and Michelle R. Smith contributed to this report.
