All united behind Trump. As soon as the news of his indictment was known, the Republicans united behind the former president by denouncing a “scandalous abuse of power” as judged by Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the House of Representatives…
Donald Trump should appear this Tuesday, April 4 in a suspicious transaction case during the 2016 presidential campaign. It is a “travesty of justice that should never have happened in the best country in the world”, added the senator Republican Tim Scott. “This unprecedented indictment is a scandal,” insisted Mike Pence, its former vice-president.
VIDEO. Donald Trump criminally charged by the courts: a first for a former American president
And even Ron DeSantis, his most dangerous rival in the 2024 Republican White House nomination race, offered his support: “That the legal system is now being used as a weapon to advance a political agenda overturns the rule of law,” said the Governor of Florida. And he promised he would not help authorities extradite Trump to New York if Trump challenges the court order.
Barely two days ago, however, Trump openly mocked him on Fox. “When he wanted to be governor of Florida, DeSantis came with tears in his eyes asking me to support him,” he said with a smile. So I gave him my support and he took off. If I hadn’t, he would now be working in a pizzeria or a law firm…”
Trump indictment will ’cause chaos’ in US
DeSantis’ unequivocal support speaks to the extraordinary hold Trump continues to wield over the Republican Party. His indictment – there would be no less than thirty counts in this case, the NY Times understands – galvanized the famous “Republican base”, the unconditional supporters of the billionaire. To issue any criticism of Trump at this time would be politically suicidal for his rivals.
So they go all out as one on Democratic prosecutor Alvin Bragg, Manhattan’s first black prosecutor. Recalling that Bragg’s predecessor had given up pursuing Trump, they accuse him of wanting to bring down the former president at all costs. And they claim that he was elected thanks to the money of billionaire George Soros, a pet peeve of the Republicans.
The reaction in some circles is more worrying. “It’s probably not the best time to ditch your AR-15s,” Fox’s No. 1 commentator Tucker Carlson said Thursday night. The AR-15 is the semi-automatic rifle that has become the weapon of choice for mass killers in the United States, used in 10 of the 17 deadliest massacres. One of his guests, Glenn Beck, another far-right personality, predicted that Trump’s indictment would “cause chaos” in the United States.
“The Constitution does not prohibit Trump from becoming president, even if he was in prison”
No other former president in the history of the United States has gone through the judicial ritual that Trump will go through, probably next Tuesday, like any defendant: state his name, age, profession, police portrait of the face and profile, fingerprinting and presentation to a judge…
But nothing in US law prevents an indicted or even convicted person from running for elected office and taking office if they win. “The Constitution does not prohibit Trump from becoming president, even if he was in prison,” recalls columnist Noah Bierman in the Los Angeles Times.
“I’m not afraid of what’s to come,” Trump said in a message to supporters hours after his indictment was announced. This is the battle in which I voluntarily engaged when I decided eight years ago to take on the whole machine of Washington (…) and to be your voice. Nothing worthwhile in life ever comes easy, and I can think of nothing more worthwhile than the noble mission of saving America. And he took the opportunity to ask them to contribute to the financing of his campaign.