It didn’t take long after a jury found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts in his New York hush money trial for Republicans to quickly jump to their presumptive presidential nominee’s defense.
Speaker Mike Johnson, second in line to the presidency and the top Republican on Capitol Hill, called it a “shameful day in American history.”
“This was a purely political exercise, not a legal one,” Johnson claimed.
The House leader, who also traveled to Manhattan to show his support for Trump at the courthouse earlier this month, went on to try to paint the proceeding as biased — parroting unfounded claims from the former president himself that the justice system has been politically weaponized against him.
“The American people see this as lawfare, and they know it is wrong — and dangerous,” Johnson said. “President Trump will rightfully appeal this absurd verdict — and he WILL WIN!”
Doug Burgum, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Vivek Ramaswamy look on as former President Donald Trump talks to the media outside Manhattan criminal court in New York, May 14, 2024.
Curtis Means/AP
Many congressional Republicans echoed that response.
New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, the No. 3 Republican in the House, also made the unfounded claim that the trial outcome is a sign of a “corrupt and rigged” justice system.
“I fully support President Trump appealing this decision and look forward to the New York Court of Appeals delivering justice and overturning this verdict,” she said.
Stefanik claimed, without evidence, that the case was “brought forward by Joe Biden’s allies in a desperate attempt to save Biden’s failing campaign and the verdict hinged on the testimony of a convicted felon who was disbarred for lying.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a brief statement on X on former President Trump’s conviction which says that the charges shouldn’t have been brought against him.
“These charges never should have been brought in the first place,” McConnell said in the post. “I expect the conviction to be overturned on appeal.”
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Among the first to react in Congress was Rep. Jim Jordan, one of Trump’s staunchest allies in Washington and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, who called the trial and verdict a “travesty of justice.”
Jordan argued Trump was subjected to a “kangaroo court” and the process was purposefully designed to keep him off the 2024 campaign trail — though Trump held several rallies and campaign stops during the six-week trial and frequently sent fundraising emails off of its developments.
Rep. Jim Jordan arrives for a House Republican conference meeting on Capitol Hill, on May 22, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
Meanwhile, Democrats asserted Trump had his day in court just like every other defendant.
“Everyone is entitled to due process, and Donald Trump had his. This guilty verdict and the many ongoing criminal cases against Trump make it clear to the world: in the United States, no one is above the law,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat.
“In America, no one is above the law: not the rich, not the powerful, and certainly not any former presidents,” Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., said in a statement.
Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, commended the jurors and urged “all Americans, no matter their party affiliation, to accept and respect the outcome of this trial.”
In the wake of former President Donald Trump’s conviction in his second impeachment trial, Republicans have swiftly rallied to his defense, with many GOP lawmakers and party officials expressing outrage at the outcome and condemning the process as politically motivated.
Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives on a charge of incitement of insurrection for his role in the January 6th Capitol riot, where a violent mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The Senate ultimately voted to convict Trump, making him the first president in U.S. history to be impeached and convicted twice.
Despite the overwhelming evidence presented during the trial, including video footage of Trump’s inflammatory remarks and tweets encouraging his supporters to “fight like hell” to overturn the election results, many Republicans have continued to stand by the former president. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who voted to acquit Trump but later criticized his actions, has faced backlash from some members of his own party for his comments.
Other prominent Republicans, such as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senator Lindsey Graham, have also come out in defense of Trump, arguing that the impeachment trial was unconstitutional and a violation of Trump’s First Amendment rights. They have accused Democrats of using the trial as a political weapon to try to discredit and silence Trump and his supporters.
The swift and unified response from Republicans to defend Trump following his conviction highlights the deep divisions within the party over his leadership and legacy. While some GOP lawmakers have distanced themselves from Trump in the aftermath of the Capitol riot, many others remain fiercely loyal to him and continue to view him as a champion of conservative values.
The fallout from Trump’s conviction is likely to further exacerbate these divisions within the Republican Party, as lawmakers and party officials grapple with how to move forward in a post-Trump era. With Trump hinting at a possible comeback in 2024 and continuing to wield significant influence over the party base, the debate over his role in the future of the GOP is far from over.
