Mike Pence and others have taken a more critical stance.
Though it might not come as a surprise, Republicans have been hesitant to speak out about Donald Trump’s slew of indictments, including the most recent one accusing him of trying to interfere in the 2020 election. But could that be starting to shift as the 2024 race starts to heat up?
While several of his GOP rivals have been quick to characterize the indictment as an example of the “weaponization” of the Justice Department, others like former Vice President Mike Pence said it shows Trump is not fit to be president.
This comes after a federal court in Washington, D.C., handed down four counts against Trump on Tuesday: Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding, Obstruction of and Attempt to Obstruct an Official Proceeding, and Conspiracy Against Rights.
Here’s a breakdown of how his fellow contenders are responding to the news.
Mike Pence
From the get-go, Former Vice President Mike Pence has argued that Trump’s actions during the insurrection were disqualifying because he put himself above the Constitution. “Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States,” he tweeted shortly after news of Trump’s latest charges broke.
He also blasted the former president’s “crackpot lawyers” for convincing him that he could upend the 2020 election. Pence is in a particularly delicate position: In addition to running for president against his former boss, he’s also considered a key witness in the Jan. 6 probe brought by special counsel Jack Smith because of his insights into the lead-up to the U.S. Capitol riot and his resistance to the pressure he faced to stop Congress from certifying President Biden’s election win.
His campaign is nevertheless using the latest drama to raise money. His campaign is selling T-shirts and hats that read “Too honest” in reference to a quote from the 45-page indictment against Trump over his efforts to remain in power.
Ron DeSantis
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has defended the former president over his various legal battles, despite their rivalry. While he admitted that he didn’t read Trump’s third indictment, that didn’t prevent him from leveling an unusual attack against Washington, D.C., where the case is taking place.
DeSantis suggested that Trump couldn’t get a fair trial if the jurors were residents of the nation’s capital, which happens to be overwhelmingly Democratic. “Washington, D.C., is a ‘swamp’ and it is unfair to have to stand trial before a jury that is reflective of the swamp mentality.”
But the Florida Republican finally rejected Trump’s claim that he was the real winner of the 2020 election and has strongly dismissed the notion that it was stolen. In an NBC News interview, DeSantis said flat out: “Of course, he lost. Joe Biden’s the president.” In the same breath, though, he also criticized the way it was run.
“I think what people in the media and elsewhere, they want to act like somehow this was just like the perfect election,” DeSantis said. “I don’t think it was a good-run election. But I also think Republicans didn’t fight back. You’ve got to fight back when that is happening.”
Chris Christie
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has established himself as a staunch critic of the former president, even going so far as to call Trump’s actions surrounding the 2020 election a “disgrace.”
This isn’t the first time Christie has taken a swipe at Trump. He also compared the former president and his allies to the mob family in The Godfather after special counsel Jack Smith filed additional charges against Trump over his alleged mishandling of classified documents. “These guys were acting like the Corleones with no experience,” he told CNN.
Nikki Haley
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who served as Trump’s U.N. ambassador, hasn’t said much about Trump’s latest charges until recently.
During a radio interview on “Good Morning New Hampshire with Jack Heath,” on Aug. 3, Haley said she has held back from commenting on it because she was tired of all the attention the indictments were getting from the media.
“Unlike the other candidates, I didn’t rush out with a statement yesterday on Trump’s indictment for one simple reason — like most Americans, I’m tired of commenting on every Trump drama,” she said on the show. “I’ve lost track of whether this indictment is the third or fourth or the fifth.”
Haley has previously spoken out about Trump’s previous indictment, which accused him of allegedly taking classified documents from the White House after leaving office. In an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation,” she said if the accusations were true, “it’s incredibly dangerous to our national security.”
Tim Scott
Similar to DeSantis and others, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott echoed concerns about “the weaponization” of the government and the DOJ’s “immense power used against political opponents.”
“What we see today are two different tracks of justice. One for political opponents and another for the son of the current president,” Scott said, pointing to President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, who’s currently facing federal tax charges.
However, Scott has avoided giving definitive answers over whether he would ever pardon the former president, calling such a decision too premature.
Will Hurd
Former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas has been sharply critical of Trump over his alleged crimes. For weeks, he has been arguing that the former president is running for another term just to “stay out of prison,” and he repeated it after Tuesday’s indictment.
Hurd also went on to argue that Trump’s White House bid is just a way for him to “scam” supporters into footing his expensive legal bills. (Trump has sent fundraising emails, including one claiming that he could be sentenced to 561 years in prison for charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.)
Asa Hutchinson
Former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson maintained his belief that Trump should be held accountable for his actions on Jan. 6., saying the former president is “morally responsible for the attack on our democracy.”
He also called on Trump once again to step aside from the race in the White House. “The latest indictment reaffirms my earlier call that Donald Trump should step away from the campaign for the good of the country. If not, the voters must choose a different path,” he said.
Hutchinson has expressed hope about a “growing resurgent effort against the Trump GOP establishment,” though a recent New York Times/Siena College poll shows that the former president continues to dominate the GOP field with a 54-point lead.
