Florida Republicans running in the Trump veepstakes have choice words for guilty verdict
Florida Republicans vying to be Trump’s running mate lashed out Thursday after President Donald Trump was convicted in his Manhattan “hush money” trial.
The jury for the trial — based on charges that Trump falsified business records to cover up a payment to keep a porn star quiet in the lead up to the 2016 election — found the former president guilty on all charges, making him a felon.
Trump, who is expected to appeal, called the trial “rigged” in brief remarks to reporters after the verdict was announced.
U.S Senator Marco Rubio, among a number of politicians reportedly in the running to be chosen as Trump’s Vice President, said in a post on X that the verdict was a “travesty” and makes a “mockery” of the country’s justice system.
“A political show trial conducted by an openly pro-Biden judge whose daughter makes money off the case, a jury from the most liberal county in America, absurd and ridiculous charges and outrageous jury instructions that guaranteed guilty verdicts. Biden and the Trump deranged left will stop at nothing to remain in power,” wrote Rubio.
U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, who is also rumored to be contending for the spot as Trump’s running mate, called the verdict a “disaster.”
“Donald Trump is innocent. To hell with what the jury said,” wrote Donalds on X. “America. This is what a political prosecution looks like. Remember in November!”
U.S Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, a Miami Republican who CNN reported could be Trump’s VP pick, said the verdict was an “injustice” and that voters will “respond accordingly at the ballot box in November.”
“Today is a profoundly sad day in American history. Like in a banana Republic, the justice system was politicized against a presidential candidate; this is unacceptable,” wrote Salazar, a former journalist.
Other Florida Republicans reacted similarly.
Florida GOP Chairman Evan Power released a statement calling the trial “election interference” and a “political witch hunt.” And Florida’s incoming House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, also had a few words to say about the verdict.
“From the outset, this case has been a verdict in search of a crime. Our justice system isn’t perfect, but when we allow it to be weaponized for political purposes, we undermine our nation’s integrity. This election should be decided by the people of the United States not by a handful of Manhattanites,” said Perez in a post on X.
This story was originally published May 30, 2024 at 7:21 PM.
