(NewsNation) — After former President Donald Trump was indicted on 37 charges related to classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago, his primary challengers have largely supported him.
The indictment accuses of Trump of retaining sensitive materials, showing documents with sensitive defense information to people without the security clearance to view them and attempting to conceal the documents from federal investigators.
While Trump faces a number of challengers for the GOP 2024 nomination, most have shied away from criticizing the former president when it comes to the federal charges.
Doug Bergum
North Dakota Gov. Doug Bergum did not answer questions about the indictment directly when appearing on “Face the Nation” on Sunday. However, he did promise that were he to be elected, he would follow every rule related to handling classified documents.
Chris Christie
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie came out against Trump, part of a very small group of Republicans to do so. Christie called the indictment “devastating” in an appearance on CNN on Friday.
Christie admitted the charges would be divisive for the country, but also accused Trump of bringing that on himself with his conduct.
Ron DeSantis
Although Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has butted heads with Trump on a number of issues, the former ally and current rival has defended Trump when it comes to an indictment. Just a few hours after the indictment was unsealed, DeSantis called the case an example of the “weaponization of federal law.”
DeSantis tweeted his response and also questioned why the Department of Justice never pursued a case against Hillary Clinton. He also promised to hold the DOJ accountable if he were elected.
Nikki Haley
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley called the indictment an example of “prosecutorial overreach and double standards” on Twitter. She didn’t mention Trump by name, but said this was not how justice should be pursued in the U.S.
Asa Hutchinson
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson joined Christie in rebuking fellow Republicans. While he said Trump deserves the presumption of innocence, he said, based on the unsealed indictment, prosecutors were following the rule of law. He also said if it was anyone other than Trump, they would have been indicted much earlier.
Hutchinson, appearing on “State of the Union,” also called on Trump to end his candidacy for the good of the nation.
Mike Pence
Former Vice President Mike Pence has not commented on the specific facts in the unsealed indictment. At a campaign stop in New Hampshire, Pence called the decision to bring charges “divisive” and called upon Attorney General Merrick Garland to unseal the then-sealed indictment and publicly explain why he was bringing charges.
At the same time, Pence noted that nobody is above the law, however, he has also called the indictment unprecedented and vowed to clean up the DOJ if elected.
Vivek Ramaswamy
Not only has entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy defended Trump, he’s gone as far as promising to pardon him. On CNN, Ramaswamy reiterated his position, calling the indictment an act of a “federal administrative police state,” arguing Trump exercised bad judgment but did not break the law.
Tim Scott
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott didn’t comment on the specifics of the indictment while appearing on Fox News, but he did call it an example of the “scales of justice being weighted.”