Fellow 2024 GOP primary hopefuls may decide to turn on the former president when details of new charges emerge.
Republican 2024 presidential hopefuls who have so far not overly criticized Donald Trump may be forced to change course when details about the former president’s alleged January 6 and 2020 election indictment emerge.
Trump said on Tuesday that he had received a letter from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office. It told him that he is a target in the federal probe into attempts to overturn the last election. The investigation is also looking into the events that led up to the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. The letter Trump received is a major indication that the former president is facing another criminal indictment while running for White House office.
In support, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, a 2024 hopeful, said during a New Hampshire campaign event that the former president was a victim of the « weaponization » of the Department of Justice.
And businessman and investor Vivek Ramaswamy, a Trump-supporting 2024 GOP primary candidate, repeated his vow to pardon those convicted in relation to the January 6 attack if elected president, including Trump.
However, in the wake of the apparent emergence of the target letter, some GOP 2024 primary candidates, such as former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, spoke out against Trump and demanded he drop out of the race.
Former federal prosecutor and MSNBC legal analyst Joyce Vance wrote on Twitter that, when the latest rumored indictment against Trump is unsealed, some Republican 2024 hopefuls may decide to start heavily condemning the actions of the former president to boost their appeal to the general public.
« Prediction: Jack Smith evidence, or what we see of it in his indictment, will be much stronger than people are anticipating, » Vance tweeted. « GOP presidential contenders who continue to shill for Trump will be forced to do an about face, perhaps not immediately, but it’s coming.
