Mark Peterson/Pool/Getty Images
Sen. J.D. Vance watches as former President Donald Trump speaks to the media during his hush money criminal trial in Manhattan Criminal Court on May 13, 2024 in New York City.
CNN
—
Donald Trump is on trial in Manhattan criminal court amid explosive testimony about his alleged sexual encounters with adult film actresses and hush money paid to cover them up. Several Trump supporters flocked to show their support for the former president. Before the 2016 election.
The courtroom came as North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Ohio Sen. J.D. has become the stage for potential vice presidential auditions. enthusiastically supported him.
It’s also a way for Republican leaders to curry favor with President Trump more broadly. On Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has increasingly aligned himself with the former president amid backlash from the far right, became the highest-ranking Republican to visit.
Politicians defending Trump have attacked people who Trump is barred from speaking publicly under gag orders, including the prosecution’s star witness Michael Cohen, whose testimony began Monday. . Their presence in court allows them to demonstrate loyalty, a trait valued and rewarded by the former president, and could earn them a post in the administration if Trump is re-elected. It will be an exciting stage for exploring sexuality.
Florida Reps. Byron Donald and Cory Mills, as well as former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, also joined President Trump in court Tuesday. They, along with Burgum, held a joint news conference outside the courthouse wearing President Trump’s trademark red ties and white shirts. The four men took turns attacking Mr. Cohen, who continued testifying Tuesday, and also attacked the daughter of Democratic-linked judge Juan Machan. They also sought to discredit the accusations brought against Trump.
Burgum accused Cohen of being a “serial perjurer” and told reporters: “The sooner this fraud trial is concluded, the sooner the president can get back on the campaign trail and talk about the issues that matter to the American people. I will be able to do it,” he said. ”
Burgum later told CNN’s Caitlan Collins that she participated “completely as a volunteer” and “because I care about the future of this country and where it’s going.”
Ramaswamy said: This is one of the most depressing places I’ve ever been to, which is fitting since the only thing more depressing than the courtroom environment is what’s actually going on there. . ”
“I called President Trump and told him I wanted to be here to call out what a travesty of justice is, and everyone in the country knows that,” Johnson told reporters. I think so,” he said. President Trump is a friend and I wanted to be here to support him. ”
Their court visit came after Vance, another running mate, and Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville appeared in court with Trump on Monday.
Mr. Vance and Mr. Tuberville spoke to reporters outside the courthouse, attacking Mr. Cohen in an attempt to undermine his credibility on his first day of testimony.
“Would any reasonable person believe what Michael Cohen says?” Mr. Vance told reporters outside criminal court, after Mr. Tuberville criticized Mr. Cohen’s testimony as an “acted scene.” He said this just before calling Cohen a “serial liar.”
New York Representative Nicole Malliotakis, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and Iowa Attorney General Brenna Byrd were also in court with Trump on Monday. Florida Sen. Rick Scott accompanied President Trump to court last week, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also visited the week before that. Eric Trump attended the trial with his father, and several of the former president’s top advisers regularly accompany him to court.
More Trump allies are expected to join Trump’s court in the coming weeks, Trump campaign officials said. The official said “many” friends and supporters have contacted him and his campaign asking if they could come to the courthouse.
“This will continue to happen, but this just shows how outraged many of his friends are at what’s happening to the president,” the official told CNN. .
A person familiar with the campaign said there was no political downside for politicians going to court to denounce the lawsuits against Trump, giving them much-needed airtime amid a highly publicized trial. He claimed that he could get it.
“If ever there was a court that I could safely attend, this is it,” this person said. Trump is also a defendant in three other criminal cases, accused of mishandling classified materials and efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all 88 charges against him.
Mark Serrano, a senior adviser to President Trump during the 2020 presidential campaign, said in an interview with CNN that the gag order imposed on President Trump could force allies of President Trump to go to court. He said he believes this is one of the main reasons why he felt that way.
“Judge Marchand took away some of Donald Trump’s voice. He took away his First Amendment rights, and he allowed people like J.D. Vance and Tommy Tuberville to come to New York and talk to Donald Trump. It’s going to lend a voice,” Serrano said.
President Trump was fined a total of $10,000 for violating a gag order that prohibits him from publicly discussing witnesses. The violations include Cohen, a key witness for prosecutors who allege that Trump illegally falsified business records after paying adult film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016 as part of allegations of election interference. It also included comments on. Trump insists that is “not true.” In the New York case, he was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
This article has been updated with additional reporting.
CNN’s Manu Raju, Kristen Holmes and Kit Maher contributed to this article.
