Trump Allies Rush to Show Support at New York Trial

While the former president remains under a gag order that limits what he can say about the trial, his surrogates are increasingly speaking out.

Former President Donald Trump’s Republican allies have appeared in growing numbers at his New York trial—a trend that “sheds more light on it,” said Larry Snowden, leader of Club 47 USA, known as the largest group of Trump supporters in America.

Mr. Snowden, observing news reports from his home in Florida, told The Epoch Times that it’s important to add prominent voices to the former president’s criticisms of the records-falsification case. They denounce it as a political prosecution—an allegation that those involved strongly reject.

Since last week, when Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) called the persecution of President Trump “despicable” in a widely publicized speech outside the court, other members of Congress and possible Trump vice presidential picks have followed suit. They attended the trial and then gave statements to news reporters outside the Manhattan courthouse.

Their outcry supplements President Trump’s protestations, while a gag order limits what he can say about the trial.

“The American people now see more and more what’s really going on,” Mr. Snowden said. “No one is being fooled by this. It’s very obvious to the majority of American people that all of this is a game to try and defeat President Trump by keeping him from being out and campaigning.”  That’s backfiring, Mr. Snowden said, noting the former president drew tens of thousands of people to a rally in Wildwood, New Jersey, this past Saturday.
In New York, several attendees called the proceeding a “sham trial” in a video montage of post-court interviews that The Washington Post compiled. In that video, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a potential VP contender, took the description a step further, saying, “It’s actually a scam trial.”

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New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the 34 New York records-falsification charges against the Republican former president, denies political motivations, as do other Democrats. They have used phrases such as “no one is above the law” to justify the prosecutions of President Trump.

The former president has repeatedly denounced both Mr. Bragg and Judge Merchan, who has fined President Trump $10,000 for gag-order violations and threatened jail time. Attempts to throw out the gag order, which allows President Trump to criticize the judge and prosecutor, are continuing.

Americans are losing faith in the justice system because “they see it being abused, as it is being done here in New York,” he said.

On that same date, Mr. Burgum said it seems nonsensical that “the world’s attention is on a paperwork trial,” given the concerns everyday Americans face. They worry about affording food, housing, and utilities, not to mention foreign relations with China, Russia, and Iran, as well as the wars in Ukraine and Israel.

Yet the court case against President Trump centers on a business-expense “classification error,” Mr. Burgum told CNN. “No real connection to a crime” has surfaced, he said, adding to many people’s perceptions that the case “seems very, very political.”

Former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said, “You know who ultimately casts the vote on this case? It’s not just the jurors in that jury box. It’s every one of you at home—every American who votes this November to say ‘no’ to the weaponization of justice.”

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) said that Republicans, Democrats, and the politically disinterested all have a stake in the outcome. “What’s going on in that courtroom is a threat to American democracy,” he said, invoking a phrase that Democrats have used to describe President Trump.

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), whom President Trump named to his VP shortlist, appears in a political fundraising video shot at the courthouse with four other people on May 14: Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), Mr. Ramaswamy, President Trump’s son, Eric Trump, and his wife, Republican National Committee Co-Chair Lara Trump.

“We’re here in court with President Trump, standing with him, but we need you to stand with him too.” Rep. Donalds says, urging people to give donations to support President Trump’s efforts to win the election.

Repeatedly, reporters have asked surrogates whether President Trump asked them to come to the trial or make specific statements. The gag order forbids him from commenting about witnesses or relatives of court personnel but allows him to criticize the judge and prosecutor.

Jason Meister, a New York-based Trump adviser, said he believes reporters have a motive for those questions. They are “trying to concoct a narrative that Trump is violating the unconstitutional gag order by suggesting that surrogates are showing up at Trump’s request,” he told The Epoch Times.

“The reality is: Surrogates understand that our country is facing an existential threat, and they’re showing up for the love of their country,” Mr. Meister said. “The defense of Trump is now the defense of America. If Trump fails, so too does the Republic.”

Several of the surrogates, including Mr. Vance and Mr. Scott, said they went to the court to show solidarity with President Trump, whom they consider a friend.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Original News Source Link – Epoch Times

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