Twelve jurors took more than nine hours to convict former President Donald Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
A handful of Trump’s prospective running mates took less than nine minutes to condemn the verdict.
The string of “guilty” readings began at 5:06 p.m. Thursday in Judge Juan Merchan’s New York courtroom. By 5:12, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was rushing to Trump’s defense online.
“Massively conflicted, Biden donor and Liberal judge + stacked jury with unconstitutional jury instructions + radical leftist prosecutor = wrongful conviction,” Noem, who is among those Trump is said to be considering as a vice presidential candidate, posted on X. “No doubt Trump will be easily vindicated soon as the case will obviously be overturned on appeal.”
Another contender, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, weighed in on X a minute later.
“The verdict in New York is a complete travesty that makes a mockery of our system of justice,” he wrote, adding insults for Merchan and for a “jury from the most liberal county in America.”
Next, at 5:14, came Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, who on the same social media platform called the verdict “a disgrace to the rule of law and our Constitution.”
It was a fast and furious — and wholly unsurprising — political coda to a Trump legal case that had also turned into an unofficial audition stage for his potential vice presidents. Several top prospects, including Vance and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who was seen at the courthouse Thursday, showed up to offer support during the weeks-long trial. Longer-shot possibilities, including Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, also made appearances in New York.
Vice presidential contenders also kept up a steady presence defending him on TV — particularly conservative and right-wing outlets like Fox News — and on social media.
Other reactions from potential short-listers poured in through social media in the hour after the verdict was read.
There was Donalds at 5:17: “Donald Trump is innocent. To hell with what the jury said.”
There was Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., also at 5:17: “Today’s verdict shows how corrupt, rigged, and unAmerican the weaponized justice system has become under [President] Joe Biden and Democrats.”
Many of the statements reserved the harshest criticism for Merchan and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
“The prosecutor is a politician who promised to nail Trump,” Ramaswamy posted (at 5:20), referring to how Bragg had long vowed to look at the case.
Two Arkansas Republicans, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Sen. Tom Cotton, both checked in (both at 5:29) to decry a “politically-motivated sham trial” and a “nakedly partisan judge,” respectively.
At the same time they vented their outrage, Ben Carson, Trump’s former Housing and Urban Development secretary, added his: “The judicial system has been weaponized to go after Presidents for political gain. Imagine what they can do to you!”
Vance, who wrote a letter this week asking Attorney General Merrick Garland to open a criminal investigation of Merchan, took a second bite at the apple — and a second shot at the jurors — in a statement released by his Senate office (at 5:30).
“The partisan slant of this jury pool shows why we ought to litigate politics at the ballot box and not in the courtroom,” Vance said. “Ultimately, I have faith that the 2024 election will be decided by the American people, not corrupt judges and prosecutors.”
Most of the contenders followed up their posts with fundraising pleas on Trump’s behalf.
Burgum was relatively late to the party.
“This verdict is a travesty of justice,” he posted at 5:52. (Burgum also added a Trump fundraising pitch.)
At 6:02, nearly an hour after the verdict, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina joined the fray by bashing the jury’s decision, as well as Bragg and Merchan, in a video.
“D.A. Bragg and the judge should be ashamed of themselves,” he said in the minute-long clip. “This isn’t just ridiculous. This actually erodes the confidence that Americans have in the justice system. Unbelievable. Un-fricking believable.”
Alec Hernández and Lindsey Pipia contributed.
