Vulnerable Republicans Remain Silent on Trump Conviction

Vulnerable House Republicans are treading carefully around former President Trump’s bombshell conviction, showing caution as they wade into the thorny debate over hush money, a porn star and the integrity of a once-treasured criminal justice system that Trump vilified.

Although GOP leaders and a long list of rank-and-file Republicans — including several front-liners — rushed to Trump’s defense following the guilty verdict on all counts in his silent trial in New York, more than half of the 17 Members of House Republicans representing districts won by President Biden in 2020 have remained silent until now.

The reticence highlighted the complicated political landscape facing moderate Republicans in purple districts throughout the Trump era: While the former president has electrified the GOP’s conservative base and even expanded the party’s tent, he has also energized liberals, alienated independents and caused some centrist Republican Party voters. escape the party completely.

It’s a dynamic that has led many swing-district Republicans to keep a cautious distance from Trump, a volatile figure known for demanding loyalty within the party and taking revenge when he doesn’t get it. And that distance was even more pronounced during Trump’s hush money trial, as a long list of front-line Republicans refused to comment immediately following Trump’s conviction on all 34 counts related to falsifying financial records to hide an alleged affair with a porn star. star – a scandal that may have diminished his chances of being elected to the White House in 2016.

“Everybody has to do what they think is wise,” Rep. Don Bacon (Neb.) — who represents a district that Biden won by 6 percentage points in 2020 — told The Hill in an interview, acknowledging the difficulty facing vulnerable Republicans ​like him.

“I don’t know if there’s a right or wrong answer,” he added. “Everyone has to do it their own way and make their own judgment.”

The list of frontline Republicans who have not yet been vetted features several California lawmakers — including Reps. Mike Garcia, Michelle Steel, David Valadao, John Duarte and Young Kim — as well as Reps. Tom Kean Jr. Fitzpatrick (Pa.) and David Schweikert (Ariz.).

But even those who have commented on the controversial conviction are doing so cautiously, a nod to the tightrope they must walk as Trump’s grip on the Republican Party tightens but his districts tilt blue.

Shortly after the verdict was read, Bacon wrote on social platform that it was a “sad day for the country,” argued that the case was “an unprecedented prosecution of a rarely charged crime,” and accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) of making Trump’s prosecution part of his campaign platform.

He, however, said he has “confidence in our legal system, which includes the appeals process.”

The Nebraska Republican told The Hill that he decided to issue a statement after receiving multiple questions about his reaction — “I had about 10 journalists asking me” — but noted that he is criticizing the way the case was handled and not supporting the conduct of the former president, while stressing that he will “respect” the final decision when the appeal process is completed.

“I’m not defending all of the president’s behavior by any means,” Bacon said. “But it seems selective and it’s done by a very partisan guy. But I think in the end, as the appeals process moves forward, I will respect that.”

Another vulnerable Republican, Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (Ore.), also issued a statement that responded to the verdict without mentioning it. Instead, she sought to shift the focus to other unrelated issues.

“It is disappointing that the national narrative continues to overshadow the kitchen table issues that Oregon families face every day,” she said. KTVL 10 News. “They are struggling with high prices, concerned about rampant violent crime and drug use, and want a secure border and common-sense immigration policies. Sensationalizing the presidential race doesn’t change the fact that Oregonians want relief from the extreme’s failed policies.”

The political dangers for any Republican who resists the former president have been clear since the verdict, as the small group of Republican figures who accepted the jury’s conclusion have been harshly attacked within the party, where there is little room to challenge a former president who has denounced the justice system as “rigged”.

Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R), who is now running for Senate in the Old Line State, for example, encouraged individuals “to respect the verdict and the legal process” regardless of the outcome, minutes before the reading of the accusations of guilt.

“At this dangerously divided moment in our history, all leaders – regardless of party – must not add fuel to the fire with more toxic partisanship. We must reaffirm what made this nation great: the rule of law,” he added.

That sentiment was quickly dismissed by Trump adviser Chris LaCivita, who wrote on X: “You just ended your campaign.”

College Republicans received the same treatment. The group’s national committee wrote on X that Trump’s verdict “was handed down by jurors whose decisions were made in accordance with our criminal justice system”, adding “As such, the outcome of this trial must be respected”, which Trump’s supporters denounced.

“Opinions are like idiots…everyone has one,” LaCivita responded on X.

“I’m sorry, but this is a terribly bad take,” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) posted. “The verdict must be condemned as a stain on our nation and our justice system. It was the result of a fraudulent and corrupt process.”

On the other side of the aisle, Democrats hope to exploit these internal tensions. On Thursday, the House Democrats’ campaign arm released an email accusing vulnerable Republican lawmakers who endorsed Trump’s candidacy of supporting a “now-convicted felon.”

“House Republicans only care about bending the knee to Trump, even when it means defending a convicted criminal,” says the message from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

In fact, most Republicans – leadership, base and even some vulnerable leaders – rallied around Trump after his conviction, rejecting the verdict as a liberal rigging of the justice system that will only help Trump return to power. at the White House in November.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, called the outcome “a travesty of justice” and demands that Bragg, who prosecuted the case, testify next month before the Federal Arms Select Subcommittee Government.

“Manhattan’s kangaroo court shows what happens when our justice system is weaponized by partisan prosecutors before a biased judge with an unfair process designed to keep President Trump off the campaign trail and avoid drawing attention to radical policies President Biden’s failures,” Jordan wrote on X.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) took this defense a step further, urging the Supreme Court to “intervene” and overturn the jury verdict.

“I think they’re going to clear this up, but it’s going to take a while,” Johnson said Friday morning on “Fox & Friends.”

Some front-line Republicans also joined the fray. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (RN.Y.), whose district favored Biden by more than 14 percentage points in 2020, said Bragg and “his left-leaning allies have completed their shameful witch hunt against President Trump, by passing a conviction through a partisan New York court, in an attempt to help Joe Biden’s failed campaign”; and Rep. Marc Molinaro (RN.Y.), who comes from a Biden plus-4.6 district, said the verdict it was “a perversion of our justice system.”

Bacon, for his part, dismissed those sentiments, a reminder of the fine line vulnerable Republicans find themselves treading and the simmering tensions at the GOP conference — and the party at large — over Trump.

“I don’t like exaggerations. When I read all the criticism this morning that it was like kangaroo courts and the third world court system, I didn’t like it,” Bacon said. “We live in the greatest country in the world and I don’t want to destroy the fabric of this country.”

“So I think it’s important to say that I will respect the process. So I hope an appeal will be made and I don’t know what the final answer will be, but I will respect the final answer.”

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story