The latest charges against former President Trump reveal who is on the Republican's side and who wishes he would leave the political spotlight.
After news broke that Trump would be indicted a second time on charges over him reportedly having classified documents in his possession, several Republicans ran to defend him from the political witch hunt while others remained silent.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) called the indictment "unconscionable" and said that he "stand[s] with President Trump against this grave injustice."
Trump's most significant 2024 rival, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), even rushed to condemn the charges claiming that there has been an "uneven application of the law," suggesting officials are overly "zealous in pursuing Trump."
Billionaire Elon Musk also commented on the ongoing target against the former president, saying there is "far higher interest in pursuing Trump" than any other candidate.
"There does seem to be a far higher interest in pursuing Trump than other people in politics," Musk tweeted hours after the news broke. "Very important that the justice system rebut what appears to be differential enforcement or they will lose public trust."
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk encouraged GOP presidential candidates to pause their campaigns and head to Miami next week to support Trump, where he will appear in court.
Additionally, 2024 GOP candidate Nikki Haley said that endlessly attacking Trump should not be the way justice in the U.S. should be reached.
"The American people are exhausted by the prosecutorial overreach, double standards, and vendetta politics.It’s time to move beyond the endless drama and distractions," she tweeted.
However, several GOP members who were once thought to be close allies of Trump either remained silent or chose to throw him under the bus.
Fellow 2024 candidate and former Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark) urged Trump to drop out of the presidential race. Despite saying that Trump is "entitled to the presumption of innocence," Hutchinson— who has been open about his dissatisfaction with the president — claimed the charges are a "major distraction."
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) also seemed to take sides on the matter, suggesting Trump can't blame anyone for his indictment but himself.
"Mr. Trump brought these charges upon himself by not only taking classified documents, but by refusing to simply return them when given numerous opportunities to do so," Romney said in a statement.
The senator-- who once said Biden was "genuinely a good man"-- took the opportunity to continue his attack against Trump, saying the former president failed to "defend the Capitol from violent attack and insurrection.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence chose not to release a comment on his ex-boss' situation.
On Friday, the indictment against Trump was unsealed showing more than 35 criminal counts, including conspiracy and retention of documents, making him the first former president in U.S. history to face federal charges. After the news broke, Trump took to his Truth Social account to accuse the DOJ of engaging in political "warfare."
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