Former President Donald Trump scored another endorsement from a U.S. senator after he arrived in New York to be arraigned on criminal charges.
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) announced her support for Trump in a statement on Monday that got right to criticizing the case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
“The prosecution of President Trump in New York is a political stunt by a prosecutor whose campaign was funded by George Soros,” Hyde-Smith said.
Proud to support my friend, @realdonaldtrump for 2024! pic.twitter.com/EcQNr2QQA6
— Cindy Hyde-Smith (@cindyhydesmith) April 4, 2023
The senator was alluding to a racial justice group, Color of Change, that received $1 million from Soros, a liberal billionaire, and supported Bragg’s 2021 campaign for district attorney.
“That charade is all about self-promotion by the prosecutor and has nothing to do with justice,” Hyde-Smith added. “I believe the whole affair will backfire on the prosecutor and Democrats.”
On Tuesday, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of what Bragg, a Democrat, alleged to be a “catch-and-kill” scheme to influence the 2016 election. The former president claims he is being targeted by politically motivated prosecutors.
Beyond criticizing Bragg, Hyde-Smith said she is endorsing Trump because of his policies and his administration’s attentiveness to the needs of Mississippi.
Hyde-Smith is the sixth U.S. senator to endorse Trump’s 2024 campaign, following Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and J.D. Vance (R-OH). A few dozen Republicans in the House have expressed support for Trump, according to an Insider tracker.
Trump endorsed Hyde-Smith in her 2018 bid for the U.S. Senate. Hyde-Smith was one of a handful of senators who objected to Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory.
Trump generally tops 2024 Republican primary polls, and his numbers appear to have gotten a boost as he became the first former president to face criminal charges. Even some of Trump’s GOP critics have spoken out in recent days to criticize the case.
“I believe President Trump’s character and conduct make him unfit for office,” said Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) in a statement. “Even so, I believe the New York prosecutor has stretched to reach felony criminal charges in order to fit a political agenda.”
Besides Trump, former South Carolina Governor and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson have entered the 2024 race for the Republican presidential nomination. Others who may join the contest include former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.