On Thursday night, Donald Trump was indicted in a classified documents probe. While the unprecedented targeting of a former president could help solidify support for him in the primary if voters rally behind him, it could also raise questions about electability in the general election, especially when it comes to court dates Trump has to show up for and potential prison time he may have to serve. Although Trump is still leading in the polls, there's still a crowded field of Republican presidential candidates. And some of them have chimed in to weigh in on the indictment.
Trump's chief primary rival, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) shared his thoughts on Twitter a few hours after Trump reportedly being indicted first broke. DeSantis noted that this "weaponization of federal law enforcement represents a mortal threat to a free society," and warned "We have for years witnessed an uneven application of the law depending upon political affiliation."
In also noting the hypocrisy and convenient timing to do with ignoring corruption concerns with Hunter Biden and former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, DeSantis asked "Why so zealous in pursuing Trump yet so passive about Hillary or Hunter?"
"The DeSantis administration will bring accountability to the DOJ, excise political bias and end weaponization once and for all," he concluded his tweet with, reminding he too is looking to be president at the end of the day.
The weaponization of federal law enforcement represents a mortal threat to a free society.
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) June 9, 2023
We have for years witnessed an uneven application of the law depending upon political affiliation.
Why so zealous in pursuing Trump yet so passive about Hillary or Hunter?
The DeSantis…
The tweet was arguably a stronger statement from when Trump was formally arraigned back in early April for an unrelated charge, with the indictment announced in late March. DeSantis is also a declared candidate now when he wasn't at the time when Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg brought forth charges to do with hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. Plus, that tweet came from DeSantis' official account as governor.
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The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 30, 2023
It is un-American.
The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is…
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy went even more in depth in his statement, now a pinned tweet to his account, which began by proclaiming "We can’t have two tiers of justice," later going on to declare what's happening is "an affront to every citizen" and that "we cannot devolve into a banana republic where the party in power uses police force to arrest its political opponents."
As Ramaswamy reminded, the political attacks against Trump have been taking place since he ran for office in 2016 as well. "Obama shamefully tried to deputize the FBI to infiltrate Trump’s 2016 campaign, but they’re leaving nothing to chance this time around: the federal police state is outright arresting Trump," his tweet also mentioned.
Like DeSantis, and so many others, Ramaswamy pointed out that it's "hypocritical for the DOJ to selectively prosecute Trump but not Biden."
Where Ramaswamy's statement went further in depth was that he raised there being "serious legal questions about the President’s power to declassify documents and the potential illegality of the over-classification of federal documents in the first place," something he said is "for the courts to decide."
Bringing it back to the race, Ramaswamy claimed "It would be much easier for me to win this election if Trump weren’t in the race," but went on to offer "I stand for principles over politics."
In the most direct part of the statement, he "commit[ted] to pardon Trump promptly on January 20, 2025 and to restore the rule of law in our country."
His reaction was among the first of anyone.
We can’t have two tiers of justice: one for Trump, another for Biden. One for Assange, another for Manning. One for BLM/Antifa, another for peaceful protesters on Jan 6.
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) June 9, 2023
I never thought we’d see the day when the U.S. President deputizes the DOJ to arrest his lead rival in the…
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) tweeted a clip of him talking to Fox News' Harris Faulkner about the indictment, in which he emphasized the need to have "confidence in our justice system," lamenting that "today, what we see is a justice system where the scales are weighted," which "seems to be the outcome of where we are today."
Scott pledged that as president he "would purge all of the injustices, and impurities in our system, so that every American can have confidence that they will be seen by the lady of justice with a blindfold on," declaring that "that is what we need in this nation."
Americans deserve to have confidence in our justice system.
— Tim Scott (@votetimscott) June 9, 2023
As President, I will purge all the injustices in our system so every American is seen by the Lady of Justice with a blindfold on. pic.twitter.com/Ncrw2MoUQQ
Larry Elder also denounced the "partisan persecution" over Twitter.
More partisan prosecution! Hillary violates the Espionage Act—yet skates. FBI/DOJ whistleblowers tell of 2-tiered justice. FBI informant doc claims Joe & Hunter got $10mil in bribes. O.J. Simpson will catch the killer or killers of Ron and Nicole before the Hunter probe is over.
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) June 9, 2023
While there were tweets in support from some of the other candidates, this is a primary we're talking about here. And they made their statements with that in mind that, while the political persecution of Trump is an unfair one, each one of these men hopes that he will be the nominee instead.
When it comes to electability, Ryan Girdusky argued over Twitter that two points could be true at the same time with regards to indicting Trump.
Biden’s DOJ has been weaponized against Republicans
— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) June 9, 2023
Trump cannot win a Presidential election
Both are true
I’m sure the millions of Trump-Biden voters will definitely be changing their minds now that he’s been indicted again.
— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) June 9, 2023
You can believe he’s innocent or the charges are overblown while acknowledging it be a disaster if he’s the Republican nominee
And, as Matt aptly put it in his reporting of the indictment, that while "[y]ou can highlight all the bias and nonsense you want; it doesn't erase the fact that Donald Trump will have two trial dates next year."
Time--which ought to bring about more polls--will tell if this has an effect on Trump's supporters. Late Thursday night the Make America Great Again Inc. PAC issued a press release indicating how "Republicans Rally Around President Trump," including more than 50 politicians and conservative figures. DeSantis, Ramaswamy, and Scott were included on the list.
Karoline Leavitt, the spokeswoman for the PAC, had appeared earlier on Newsmax's "Rob Schmitt Tonight," where she called on Trump's fellow Republican primary candidates to unite behind him.
"Every single other Republican that is running for president right now against Donald Trump, they have a responsibility to call out Joe Biden's corrupt Department of Justice," as it's "not the time to sit and huddle with your political consultants what is advantageous to your campaign," she declared.
.@kleavittnh: This is blatant election interference. Every single Republican running against Donald Trump has a responsibility to call out Joe Biden's Department of Justice. pic.twitter.com/GBDope5mv7
— MAGA War Room (@MAGAIncWarRoom) June 9, 2023
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