Potential VP pick attends Trump trial
Vance: Goal of case is ‘psychological torture’
Republican senator and vice presidential contender J.D. Vance joined former president Donald Trump at his criminal hush money trial Monday.
Trump is on trial for 34 counts of falsifying business records. Prosecutors say he covered up reimbursements to his former lawyer Michael Cohen, who paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 in 2016 to stay quiet about a sexual encounter with Trump that allegedly happened a decade earlier. Trump denies the encounter and pleaded not guilty.
The Ohio senator walked into the courthouse along with the Republican presidential front-runner, Trump’s son Eric and two other lawmakers: Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-ala., and Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y.
Vance isn’t the first Republican heavy hitter to appear at Trump’s side in the trial. Florida Sen. Rick Scott, Texas attorney general Ken Paxton and Dave Mcintosh, leader of the anti-tax and GOP fundraising group Club for Growth have also attended to support the former president.
Attacking Cohen, falling asleep
Vance appears to be on the short list for vice presidential candidates after joining a group of six leaders at a recent Republican donor retreat.
He has been outspoken about defending Trump in his four criminal cases, and taking a front-row seat to proceedings seems to have given Vance fodder for more criticism.
Posting Monday morning on X, formerly Twitter, Vance bemoaned the
atmosphere of the “dingy” courthouse compared to luxurious Trump Tower near Central Park.
“The president is expected to sit here for six weeks to listen to the Michael Cohens of the world,” he wrote. “I’m now convinced the main goal of this trial is psychological torture. But Trump is in great spirits.”
Vance also took jabs at Cohen’s memory and defended Trump for appearing to fall asleep several times during the trial.
“I’m 39 years old and I’ve been here for 26 minutes and I’m about to fall asleep,” Vance said on X.
A gag order prohibits Trump from attacking witnesses in the trial, but it doesn’t apply to his allies.
Who is J.D. Vance?
Vance is a first-term Republican U.S. Senator from Ohio. Before his election in 2022, he ran a venture capital firm and wrote the 2016 memoir “Hillbilly Elegy.”
At that time, Vance described himself as a “never Trump guy.” He called Trump “noxious, “reprehensible” and “an idiot.”
Vance has more recently become an ally of Trump’s, picking up the former president’s endorsement in his Senate race. Vance is also reportedly close with Donald Trump Jr.
As of late April, Vance said he had not spoken to the presumptive Republican nominee about being his running mate.
Other potential V.P. contenders include Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., Sen. Marco Rubio, R-fla., Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
Contributing: John Kennedy, Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY.