Critical voices have so far been fairly low-key within the Grand Old Party, just days after the historic federal indictment of former President Donald Trump, 2024 presidential candidate. Several members of the party, including candidates for the party’s nomination for the party. next election, however, on Sunday, June 18, Mr. Trump was judged indefensible and ” [pas] above the law” .
“I can’t defend” what he is accused of, said on the NBC channel Mike Pence, former vice president of Mr. Trump (2017–2021), candidate for the 2024 Republican primary.
That was said by Mark Esper, who was Donald Trump’s defense secretary “if the allegations are true, that they contained information about our nation’s security (…)it can be very harmful to the nation”on the CNN channel. “No one is above the law”he added, condemning these revelations “difficult”.
Former Arkansas governor and Republican primary candidate Asa Hutchinson told ABC that the allegations against Donald Trump were “serious and likely to disqualify him” and argues: “I think he should give up. »
Delicate position of primary candidates
Mr. Trump appeared in federal court in Miami on Tuesday, a first for a former president. He is accused of endangering the security of the United States by keeping classified documents, including military plans or information on nuclear weapons, in the toilets or storage room of his luxury residence Mar-a-Lago in Florida and refusing to return them. documents despite court orders. In federal court, he pleaded not guilty.
The critical remarks made about him on Sunday by Republican tenors, among whom he is the direct competitor for the party’s nomination in 2024, contrast with those of many Republican elected officials in Congress. The latter defended either Mr. Trump, refused to criticize him or did so only moderately.
Most candidates for the Republican nomination are in a delicate position, eager both to show their difference from Donald Trump and to avoid alienating their very loyal voting base.
Thus, Mike Pence noted on Sunday that the former president “deserved” his summons to court, while refusing to comment further ” Before [Donald Trump] has had the opportunity to bring his case to court.. “I don’t know why some of my competitors in the Republican primary assume the president will be found guilty”he also said.
The case involving the billionaire and former real estate tycoon is just one of the many legal cases he is embroiled in that cast a shadow over his race for a second term in 2024.
