Trump speaks to his supporters in a late night video address on Truth Social
In a post on Truth Social, former President Donald Trump addressed the ongoing litigation he faces in New York surrounding hush money his former lawyer paid to Stormy Daniels in 2016. (Truth Social/@realDonaldTrump)
Former President Trump is using the potential indictment from the Manhattan district attorney's office as a gift to his campaign — at least short term.
The former president and his team of allies are employing a full court press to make the most of the potential indictment from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for Trump’s alleged involvement in hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016, to keep her quiet ahead of that year’s election over her claims she had sexual encounters years earlier with Trump.
Trump and his allies, in social media postings and media comments, have been using the looming indictment to rally the MAGA base around the former president, and to juice grassroots fundraising.
Taylor Budowich, Trump’s former spokesman who now heads up MAGA Inc., the top super PAC supporting the former president’s 2024 White House campaign, told Fox News that an indictment would "break open the political flood gates" and deliver "support and campaign contributions, like we’ve never before seen."
MANHATTAN DA BRAGG TO HOUSE GOP: ‘WE WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED’
For months, Trump has dismissed the idea that an indictment would hurt him even as he railed against the potential charges from several legal investigations into him.
Former President Trump speaks at a campaign event Monday, March 13, 2023 in Davenport, Iowa. (AP Photo/Ron Johnson)
"I wouldn't even think about leaving. Probably it will enhance my numbers," Trump declared earlier this month ahead of his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) when asked by reporters of a possible indictment.
Public opinion polling appears to back up his claim, suggesting that the former president received a boost among Republican voters last year after the FBI’s search for classified documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
WHAT WOULD A POTENTIAL TRUMP INDICTMENT LOOK LIKE?
GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik, a top Trump ally in the House of Representatives, predicted to Punchbowl this week that "you're going to see President Trump continue to solidify his position in the Republican nomination."
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference 2023, Saturday, March 4, 2023, at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. ((AP Photo/Alex Brandon))
It is not just Trump loyalists.
Republican Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, a vocal Trump critic who is mulling his own 2024 White Hose run, acknowledged on Sunday talk shows that an indictment could fuel "a lot of sympathy for the former president."
Longtime GOP consultant Jim Merrill, a New Hampshire based strategist and veteran of numerous Republican presidential campaigns, told Fox News that "short term it’s a benefit… It helps him to solidify the base."
Trump and his allies are also keeping score on what actual and potential rivals for the nomination have said about the potential indictment, and in particular Florida Gov. Ron Desantis. The popular conservative Florida governor remains on the 2024 sidelines but is seen as Trump’s top nomination rival if, as expected, he launches a campaign later this year.
After Trump criticized DeSantis last weekend for not speaking out, the Florida governor on Monday ripped Bragg over the likely indictment and claimed that the Manhattan DA was "pursuing a political agenda and weaponizing the office."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to Iowa voters on March 10, 2023 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
DeSantis also labeled Bragg a "Soros DA" — a reference to billionaire Democratic donor George Soros, who is a regular target of conservatives. Additionally, he charged that Bragg is part of a group of prosecutors who are a "menace to society."
However, the governor also said "I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair. I can’t speak to that," referring to Trump's alleged affair with Daniels. Trump has denied that he had sex with Daniels.
DeSantis added that "I’ve got real issues I’ve got to deal with here in the state of Florida."
The governor's comments upset Trump and his allies, as the former president and Donald Trump Jr. fired off attacks on social media.
Trump, using a derogatory nickname for DeSantis, argued that "Ron DeSanctimonious will probably find out about FALSE ACCUSATIONS & FAKE STORIES sometime in the future, as he gets older, wiser, and better known."
He claimed that DeSantis "is dropping in the Polls so fast that he soon may be falling behind young Vivek Ramaswamy," and also rehashed past criticisms of DeSantis over his past stances on Medicare and Social Security from his days in Congress.
Trump’s eldest son labeled DeSantis’ comments "pure weakness."
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While Republican strategists see a potential for short-term gain for Trump, Merrill — who remains neutral in the GOP nomination race — said that "long term I think the impact is uncertain."
Former South Carolina GOP executive director Alex Stroman, who’s also on the 2024 sidelines as of now, told Fox News "while it may give him [Trump] some good will in an early state, you might see a little bit of a bounce in the polls, I think it’s a temporary bounce."
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