‘An outrage’: 2024 hopefuls sound off on Trump charges

WASHINGTON – As a grand jury in New York voted to indict Donald Trump – a former president and currrent GOP presidential candidate – his actual and potential 2024 Republican rivals walked a fine line, criticizing the Manhattan district attorney even as many of them weigh a run against the excommander in chief.

From Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who announced her presidential bid earlier this year, to Florida Gov. Ron Desantis, who has yet to announce whether he is running for president but has come in second to Trump in several polls, potential GOP presidential contenders have focused their reaction to the former president’s indictment on the Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg.

Here is what the 2024 hopefuls and possible contenders said about Trump’s indictment:

Haley says indictment is about ‘revenge’ rather than ‘justice’

Haley, who announced she was running for president in February, said in an interview with Fox News that Bragg’s case is for “political points” and that he is trying to take “revenge” on the former president.

“What we know is when you get into political prosecutions like this, it’s more about revenge than it is about justice,” she said. “I think the country would be better off talking about things that the American public cares about than just sit there and have to deal with some revenge by some political people in New York.”

Desantis: Florida will not assist in extradition for indictment

Desantis criticized the indictment in a statement on Twitter as “un-american” and said Florida would not assist in an extradition request for Trump.

Trump is staying at his Mar-a-lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

“The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head,” Desantis said. “It is un-american.”

Hutchinson says Trump should have ‘presumption of innocence’

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who is considering a GOP presidential bid, said in a statement that Trump should have a “presumption of innocence.”

“It is a dark day for America when a former president is indicted on criminal charges,” Hutchinson said. “We need to wait on the facts and for our American system of justice to work like it does for thousands of Americans every day.

“Donald Trump should not be the next President, but that should be decided by the voters.”

“It is a dark day for America when a former president is indicted on criminal charges.”

Asa Hutchinson

Former Arkansas governor

Youngkin: The left is trying to ‘weaponize’ judicial system

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin wrote in a Tweet that Bragg indicted Trump “for pure political gain.”

“Arresting a presidential candidate on a manufactured basis should not happen in America,” Youngkin said. “The left’s continued attempts to weaponize our judicial system erode people’s faith in the American justice system and it needs to stop.”

Pence: Trump indictment ‘an outrage’

Former Vice President Mike Pence, also weighing a run, called the indictment “an outrage.”

“It appears to millions of Americans to be nothing more than a political prosecution,” Pence said on CNN.