House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is blasting Democrats for allegedly trying to use the justice system to hurt former President Donald Trump’s campaign.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Johnson said, “Something is happening in the country right now… When the verdict came down against President Trump, there was something palpable that happened around the country.”
“People realize that we have reached a new low,” he continued. “When you have activist prosecutors and the Democratic Party who are so desperate because of the presidential campaign and the way it’s going — they understand that Donald Trump, all the polling shows, is crushing Joe Biden — they’re in panic mode on the Democratic side, and they are so desperate to stop Donald Trump — he’s winning in the swing states, he’s winning among the people, he’s winning among new demographics that have never voted Republican before — they see this happening and they’re so desperate to stop him that they are willing to use the judicial system to do so.”
He added, “It is a new low, and it’s a dangerous one. Because what they’re doing is they’re eroding the people’s faith in our system of justice itself.”
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Johnson noted there is a “backlash” as he pointed out Trump and other Republicans brought in record fundraising amounts after the guilty verdict.
On Thursday, Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in an attempt to cover up a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
Conservatives have criticized the case and alleged it was an example of selective prosecution against Trump.
Additionally, they have took issue with the legal theory of the case which bumped the charges up from misdemeanors to felonies on the basis that business records were falsified in furtherance of another crime. And while the prosecution did not precisely make clear what the other crime was, it argued the falsification was done in furtherance of a campaign finance violation in closing arguments.
Trump called the verdict the result of a “rigged disgraceful trial.”
However, an ABC News/Ipsos poll found 50% of Americans said they believe the decision to find Trump guilty in his hush money trial was correct.
And roughly 49% say he should end his campaign. In 2023, 49% said in an ABC News poll he should suspend his campaign due to an indictment.
Despite the ABC poll finding nearly half the country thinks he should end presidential bid, the Trump campaign claims it raised a whopping $200 million in the days since the verdict was announced.
Additionally, the former president started an account on TikTok and quickly developed a following of more than 3 million, dwarfing President Joe Biden’s following of around 345,600 followers on the platform.
