Vivek Ramaswamy calls for DeSantis and Haley to condemn possible Trump indictment

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy called on fellow 2024 GOP hopefuls Nikki Haley and speculated future contender Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) to denounce the possibility of former President Donald Trump’s indictment.

Ramaswamy expressed concern that some 2024 presidential candidates may be “quietly celebrating” Trump’s potential forthcoming indictment, which he believes could considerably harm the country and affect a “national divorce.” He further emphasized the importance of Republican candidates showing unity and solidarity in condemning the indictment.

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“I called on my fellow GOP candidates @RonDeSantisFL and @NikkiHaley to join me in condemning the potential Trump indictment because those of us *running against Trump* can most credibly call on the Manhattan DA to abandon this disastrously politicized prosecution,” he tweeted. “I pray that the DA does the right thing: we’re skating on thin ice as a country right now.”

Last week, reports highlighted that New York law enforcement was prepared for security measures in the event of Trump being indicted by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office over the $130,000 payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016 and the alleged associated falsification of business records. Trump himself suggested he would be arrested next week while urging his supporters to “protest, take our nation back.”

Ramaswamy harked back to his Conservative Political Action Conference address when he called for a national rival instead of a national divorce, something he views as a core tenet of his campaign. “The case for my candidacy is I am in the camp of a national revival,” he said in a video accompanying his tweet. “I think this takes us a step closer to a national divorce. I think that when you politicize the justice system itself to prosecute a political opponent of the party in power, the leading political opponent of the party in power, that is not one small step, but a giant leap towards the national divorce.”

If indicted, Trump would be the first former US president charged with a crime. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and claimed that the Manhattan DA’s investigation is a witch hunt.

Ramaswamy, an underdog in the 2024 contest, further criticized the potential indictment as being rooted in “ministerial and politicized grounds.”

Several Republicans who have criticized Trump, including Vice President Mike Pence and Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH), both speculated possible 2024 presidential hopefuls, have expressed concerns about the potential legal case against Trump by the Manhattan DA’s office. Sununu, for instance, suggested that the case relied on an “untested” legal theory and highlighted that the alleged payment took place nearly seven years ago.