‘Total War’: Outraged GOP Reacts To Trump Indictment

The March 31 indictment of former President Donald J. Trump by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was expected for some weeks. So, too, was the reaction. The paradox remains in plain view: Trump is popular among Republican Party rank-and-file, considerably less so among GOP elected officials. On Tuesday, April 1, Trump was arrianged on 34 felony counts for falsification of business records.
Nassau County is represented in Congress by two Republicans. Both quickly issued statements.
“With crime in New York City at record highs & the public safety situation rapidly deteriorating, DA Alvin Bragg chooses to focus his energy on playing politics instead of taking violent criminals off street,” tweeted Rep. Anthony P. D’Epsosito (R-Island Park). “Bragg is a hack & should be ashamed.”
“Weaponizing the justice system to target a political rival is a clear danger to our country and democracy,” added Rep. George Santos (R–Great Neck). “If they can do this to President Trump imagine what they will do to us.”
In his tweet, D’Esposito did not mention Trump by name. This was not the case with a statement from New York State Republican Chairman or one from the Young Republicans of New York.
“[This] is miscarriage of justice, an outrageous violation of democratic norms and a travesty for our politics at home and reputation abroad.
“Both the Southern District of New York and Joe Biden’s Department of Justice declined to pursue this matter,” said New York State Republican Chair Ed Cox. “This is a blatant political scheme by Alvin Bragg to make a name for himself and play to his liberal Manhattan base by smearing, tearing down and demeaning former President Trump.”
The most fiery response came from the New York Young Republicans Club.
“[Our] nation careens toward tyranny at an unprecedented pace,” it stated. “An impudent cabal of radical figures abandons all propriety in their dogged attacks on President Donald J. Trump. We have taken a decisive step away from the values that define our national character.
“Every utterance that has escaped these monsters’ lips since President Trump first came down the escalator has built toward this moment; each falsehood, each misdirection, each deliberate mis-portrayal found its culmination in Alvin Bragg’s desperate action.
“Radical leftist interests, beholden to an elite, internationalist cabal have taken the unprecedented step of indicting President Donald J. Trump, the leading candidate for the 2024 presidential election.
“Every American feels today the solid grasp of the Fifth Column on his throat; henceforth, we must openly acknowledge what so many have long known: that control of our nation’s fate has long been prised from our grasp. Let anyone who celebrates this downfall of our republic be forever branded a traitor to our nation. No one who mocks the people’s will can claim the title of an American.
“The fix has always been “in” against our President, but his motivation and love for the American people drove him to pursue the national excellence that his unique vision perceived lay within our reach. In doing so, he opened so many eyes to reality.
“Despite our tremendous success holding marquee protests in Manhattan for critical right-wing causes, today we remain at home. Let our silence be a condemnation of the captivity of our nation; a polemic on the state of our republic. We will not allow another Fedsurrection; we will not be pawns in the Deep State’s perpetual effort to delegitimize Americans’ fundamental right of assembly.
“President Trump assured us that he was our retribution,” the statement concluded. “Now we must return the rejoinder: our victory will be the joint vindication that our great President Donald J. Trump and our American people both deserve. This is Total War.”
Statewide, New York has a Democratic governor and two Democratic senators.
As of press time, only Sen. Charles Schumer delivered a statement.
“Donald Trump is subject to the same laws as every American,” Schumer tweeted. “He will be able to avail himself of the legal system and a jury, not politics, to determine his fate according to the facts and the law.”
Likewise, there were no statements from either the New York State Democratic Party or the Nassau County Democratic Party.
As expected, Trump issued his own fiery statement.
“Never before in our Nation’s history has this been done,” it read. “The Democrats have cheated countless times over the decades, including spying on my campaign, but weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States and by far the leading Republican candidate for President, has never happened before. Ever. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, who was hand-picked and funded by George Soros, is a disgrace. Rather than stopping the unprecedented crime wave taking over New York City, he’s doing Joe Biden’s dirty work, ignoring the murders and burglaries and assaults he should be focused on. This is how Bragg spends his time! I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden,” the statement concluded. “The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it. So our Movement, and our Party – united and strong – will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these Crooked Democrats out of office so we can make America great again!”