Cautiously, backhanded, DeSantis comes to Trump’s defense
Visitors from an alien planet might think Florida Governor Ron DeSantis received a great present this week when his main presidential rival was accused of mishandling the country’s national security secrets.
But as Mr. DeSantis’ last speech showed, this is a state of affairs he must be wary of.
Speaking to Republicans in North Carolina on Friday night, his first public remarks since the unveiling of federal charges against former President Donald J. Trump, Mr. DeSantis stepped cautiously and quickly danced past the topic.
Anticipating how he could criticize the Justice Department’s case without completely off-hook Mr. Trump, he offered a somewhat underhanded defense of the now twice-indicted former president — whose loyal followers Mr. DeSantis is trying to anger. avoid it – by drawing on his own experiences as a naval lawyer.
Mr. DeSantis seemed to be musing aloud, asking what the Navy would have done to him if he had taken classified documents with him during his military service. “I would have been court-martialed in New York in a minute,” he said in a swipe at Mr. Trump’s hometown.
While Mr. DeSantis made his comment about Hillary Clinton not being charged with using a private email server when she was Secretary of State, his remarks might as well have related to Mr. Trump. And they suggested that he thought both Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton should have been charged — or neither.
“Is there a different standard for a Democratic secretary of state than for a former Republican president?” he asked. “I think there should be one standard of justice in this country. Let’s enforce it on everyone and make sure we all know the rules.”
(A year-long State Department investigation found that Mrs. Clinton had not intentionally or systematically mishandled classified information.)
The nature of Mr. Trump’s federal indictment, which came out in plain sight Friday, left Mr. DeSantis and several other Republican presidential candidates increasingly unsteady on the tightrope they were walking, trying to defend a rival. who was accused of arrogantly and illegally preserving sensitive documents. about US nuclear programs and the country’s vulnerability to military attack.
Many of these candidates are now in the difficult position of rallying around Mr. Trump, even as they try to distinguish themselves from his legacy as he continues to dominate them in the polls.
“This is not how justice should be pursued in our country,” said Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and Trump’s UN ambassador. said on Twitter. “The American people are exhausted by the overreach of the prosecution, double standards and vendetta politics.”
That caution was in stark contrast to the two Republican candidates most willing to criticize Trump.
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie called the indictment “devastating” and told CNN that “the facts set forth here are damning.” And in an interview with The New York Times, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson countered claims that Mr. Trump was being treated unfairly and reiterated his belief that he should drop out of the race.
“To say pejoratively that this is the result of a political persecution is not in the service of our justice system,” said Mr Hutchinson, adding: “It would be a disservice to the country if we did not take this matter seriously. “
Jack Smith, the special counsel leading the investigation, urged the public on Friday to understand the “magnitude and seriousness” of the allegations.
Mr. Trump is expected to appear in Federal District Court in Miami on Tuesday afternoon to face charges including willful withholding of national defense secrets in violation of the Espionage Act, making false statements and conspiracy to obstruct justice. On his Truth Social website, the former president called Mr. Smith “disturbed.”
Some voters who attended Mr. DeSantis’ speech in Greensboro, NC, suggested they were growing tired of the controversy surrounding Mr. Trump, even as they expressed belief that the charges were politically motivated. (Mr. Trump is also being sued in New York state court for his alleged role in paying a porn star hush money.)
“Even if he gets re-elected, they’ll never leave him alone. So what’s the point?” said Mary Noble, 70, who has voted for Mr. Trump twice but has yet to make a decision in the 2024 primary. “He will never be effective.” That’s my fear.”
Tom Wassel, who sells air pollution control equipment and also supported Mr Trump in both previous elections, did not mind that Mr DeSantis touched on the charge only briefly and not very forcefully.
“I want him to talk about what he’s going to do,” said 70-year-old Wassel.
Apart from Mr. Christie and Mr. Hutchinson, the Republicans running for president broadly supported Mr. Trump, with some arguing that the prosecution amounted to an extraordinary and unfair political vendetta and one that went so far as to flatly promise him to grant grace.
Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur who has positioned himself to secure the support of Mr Trump’s supporters if the former president’s legal troubles derail his political comeback, said: “I commit to immediately pardon Trump on January 20, 2025.”
In a radio interview on Friday before the indictment was unsealed, former Vice President Mike Pence appeared to contrast Mr. Trump’s behavior with his own zealous return of classified documents to the National Archives. But he added that he was “deeply disturbed to see this charge moving forward” and took a swipe at what he called “years of politicization” of the Justice Department.
Meanwhile, Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee and a leading critic of Mr. Trump, was one of the few GOP officials to convict him. classified documents, but by simply refusing to return them when given numerous opportunities to do so.”
Jonathan Weisman contributed reporting from Chicago, and Luke Broadwater from Washington.