Pence and Trump were among the top Republican hopefuls for the 2024 presidential race at the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) three-day gathering in Indianapolis, with both promising to defend Americans’ right to bear arms at all costs. Responding to the verdict on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said the jury’s ruling was a “disgrace” and called it “the greatest witch hunt of all time”.Former US Vice President Mike Pence was booed at the annual meeting of the United States’s largest gun rights lobby even as he sought to present himself as a more determined defender of gun rights than his one-time boss Donald Trump. However, Lindsay Graham, a senator for South Carolina, and known Trump ally, claimed that the New York legal system was “off the rails when it comes to Donald Trump”. It stands in stark contrast to the outpouring of support for Mr Trump following his criminal indictment earlier this year, when his defenders quickly denounced the charges over hush money payments as a political “witch hunt”. Meanwhile, Kevin McCarthy, the Republican House Speaker, would not be drawn on whether he would continue to support Mr Trump. They include one of Mr Trump’s fiercest defenders, congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. While the outcry from Mr Romney was predictable, the silence from Trump loyalists in Congress following Tuesday’s verdict was equally damaging for the Republican candidate. “I hope the jury of the American people reached the same conclusion about Donald Trump,” he said. Mitt Romney, a senator for Utah, and an arch-Trump critic, told CNN that a jury of Mr Trump’s “peers found him guilty of sexual assault and awarded $5 million to the person who was damaged”. “I would see very dark clouds on the horizon if he is the nominee,” he added. The sexual predator label the verdict attaches could prove highly damaging among female voters, and particularly suburban women - a key demographic the Republicans need to sway in order to win a general election in 18 months.ĭon Bacon, a Republican senator, predicted that Mr Trump “would sink” and “not win the White House”.
He said: “He’s got a solid, supportive base, but you can’t win a general election with just your base.” John Cornyn, a Republican senator for Texas, said he did not believe Mr Trump could win the presidency. “People are going to have to decide whether they want to deal with all the drama,” Mr Thune said. Mr Trump is facing multiple criminal investigations over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, hush money payments made to women alleging affairs, and over his handling of classified documents after leaving office. Senator John Thune, the second-ranking Republican in the chamber, said that Mr Trump’s multiple legal threats have “a cumulative effect”. While Mr Pence defended his former president, other Republicans were more forthright over the impact of the civil lawsuit on Mr Trump’s ability to triumph in the next presidential election. But analysts warn that the assault verdict could have a negative impact on his general election chances. Polls show Mr Trump leading his closest rival for the Republican nomination by a large margin. Verdict may have negative impact on presidential bid
The sexual assault case is “just one more story focusing on my former running mate that I know is a great fascination to members of the national media, but I just don’t think is where the American people are focused”, he told NBC News. Mr Pence, 63, said the case was not important to Americans who are struggling with persistently high inflation hitting food and petrol prices. He remains the frontrunner in the 2024 Republican primary contest. Mr Trump intends to appeal the verdict and has signalled it will not derail his presidential campaign. “Of all the cases that this man faces, all the legal quagmires… all the prosecutors, all the special counsel, all the investigators, and what happened yesterday is one 5-foot 9 little blond wily female attorney… and one 79-year-old advice columnist beat Donald Trump in court.” This is about getting my name back, and that’s what we accomplished,” she said on NBC. Ms Carroll said she was “overwhelmed with joy” for women after the verdict.
0 kommentar(er)
