An unfortunate task for GOP rivals: defend the man who dominates the polls

In the chaotic world of Republican politics in 2024, rivals of Donald J. Trump had been bracing for weeks for his second indictment with more fear than any sense of chance.

After years of back-to-back scandals, the direct instincts of so many Republican voters have become deeply ingrained. They fire in Mr. Trump’s defense no matter how outrageous the allegations are or who makes them — Democrats, the news media, local prosecutors or, now, federal prosecutors. Donations skyrocketed after the first indictment against Trump in Manhattan. And he consolidated support in the polls.

Even prominent Republicans who were keen for the party to overthrow Mr Trump in 2024 were concerned about the indictment. They have long been annoyed by the immunity of Mr. Trump’s base from almost any attack or argument, and swarm almost out of habit to neutralize any perceived political threat.

“There are a lot of people who just don’t buy into it,” Chris Sununu, the Republican governor of New Hampshire who announced this week that he would not run for president in 2024, said in a recent interview. “Democrats are like the boy who cried wolf. ‘Oh no no. But this is real.'”

He added: “It has created a situation where many Republican voters intuitively reject any criticism of the former president.”

On Thursday night, Mr. Trump’s rivals immediately faced the uncomfortable choice of joining the chorus of conservatives quickly rallying behind Mr. Trump, or looking like they weren’t on Team GOP in a moment of heightened tribal politics. Those who did speak usually came in defense of the candidate who dominated them in the polls.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that “the arming of federal law enforcement poses a mortal threat to a free society,” though he did not explicitly defend Mr. Trump.

South Carolina Senator Tim Scott also denounced “the arming of the Justice Department” in an interview on Fox News scheduled before the indictment. “You don’t have to be a Republican to see injustice,” he said.

And Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur leading a tough but long-running candidacy, went further, promising: “I commit to immediately pardon Trump on January 20, 2025.”

The exception was Asa Hutchinson, the former governor of Arkansas who clung to the margins of the race as a stronghold of old guard Republican policy. He called on Mr. Trump to end his campaign.

Most Republicans, conservative commentators and Trump allies immediately turned up the pressure to close ranks behind a former president who was being charged by special counsel appointed by a Justice Department reporting to President Biden. “Peak witch hunt,” the headline blared at Breitbart. A pro-Trump super PAC circulated supporting statements from more than 50 elected officials and conservative figures within four hours of Mr Trump announcing his own indictment.

“This will only create a storm of support,” Steve Bannon, the former Trump strategist who hosts the “War Room” streaming program popular with the party’s right-wing base, wrote in a text message. “Rivals would be wise to ‘come round’.”

Mr Trump raised $4 million in the first 24 hours after his last indictment. His campaign sent its first cash plea by email less than 30 minutes after publishing it.

There are longer-term questions about the political ramifications of the indictment, which adds another piece of baggage for a now twice-indicted and twice-indicted former president. Then there’s the matter of actual legal jeopardy: The specific charges include willful withholding of national defense secrets in violation of the Espionage Act, making false statements and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

But on Fox News, the cable channel that serves as an information circulation system for millions of Republican primary voters, coverage on Thursday was almost universally appalled at the seven federal counts facing Trump, even though the details have not been made public. yet. The host Mark Levin called “June 8, the day of the uprising, not January 6.” Breaking news banners and repeated excerpts proclaimed Democratic defections and scandals, from Hillary Clinton to President Biden, that led to no prosecution.

Fox News host Pete Hegseth urged Mr. Trump’s 2024 rivals to travel to Florida in solidarity, where Mr. Trump said he was summoned to a federal courthouse next week: “Any Republican nominee would run in Tuesday night in Miami should be. – standing behind – standing for justice in the country, saying, ‘I can run for president’ – Mike Pence, Tim Scott, Nikki Haley, whoever, Ron DeSantis – ‘but this is an injustice.’”

Mr Hegseth added: “I don’t think they have a chance now given what Trump is dealing with.”

Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina, a Republican who has at times been an outspoken critic of Mr. Trump, made a similar statement on the same network. “I truly believe tonight that Joe Biden just secured Donald Trump’s 2024 Republican nomination,” Ms. Mace said.

The highest-ranking elected Republican in America, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, was among those who sided with Mr. Trump for being outside parochial political considerations.

“I, and every American who believes in the rule of law,” Mr. McCarthy wrote on Twitter, “stand with President Trump.”