The unprecedented indictment of former President Donald Trump triggered a predictable flood of polarized political reactions on Thursday evening, with Republicans condemning and Democrats celebrating the decision by the Manhattan grand jury.
One by one in the hours that followed, all of the Republican hopefuls for the White House in 2024 defended the former president. Though not surprising, the unity among Trump’s political opponents is a twist in the years-long drama that offers a glimpse into the state of the 2024 presidential primary and the next act in Trump-era American politics.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the current front-runner in the field of Republicans looking to oust Trump in the primary, called the move by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg un-American. Former Vice President Mike Pence, speaking on CNN the same evening, called it “a bad decision by a political prosecutor.” Nikki Haley, who unlike Pence and DeSantis has made her presidential bid official, said “this is more about revenge than it is about justice.”…