In response to Donald Trump’s VP contenders putting Trump ahead of the rule of law, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement: 

“Donald Trump has made abundantly clear that loyalty to him over the rule of law is a clear litmus test in his MAGA veepstakes, and his VP contenders are happy to oblige. Whether it’s our judicial system or our democracy itself, Trump’s potential running mates are willing to undermine our basic principles of justice if they don’t serve Trump’s will, and voters will remember that when they cast their ballot in November.”

Here’s a look:

Axios: “The rush to defend the former president caters to Trump’s fondness for public displays of loyalty after attendees at the courthouse trial became a veritable who’s who of Trump loyalists.”

NBC News: “It was a fast and furious — and wholly unsurprising — political coda to a Trump legal case that had also turned into an unofficial audition stage for his potential running mates.”

Washington Post: “Rather than expressing confidence in the judicial system, Republicans ranging from longtime Trump allies to those who backed his impeachment have expressed dismay over what they have characterized as a political weaponization of the judicial process.”

NBC News: “Since then — after two impeachments, a 2020 presidential defeat and multiple indictments — today’s Republican Party has learned to stand 100% behind Trump when it is faced with bad news about its former president and current presumptive presidential nominee. Indeed, the reaction from Republican elected officials and candidates for office after Trump was found guilty of all 34 charges in the New York hush money trial was overwhelmingly supportive.”

Vanity Fair: “What about his allies on the right? Are they urging caution at this time? Telling people that if they are all about ‘law and order,’ then they should respect the verdict rendered by the legal system? Explaining that no one actually has to be worried about this happening to them unless they decide to commit a bunch of crimes? Not exactly!

“Instead, they are completely losing their minds, vowing revenge, and—in the case of the ex-president’s eldest son—calling the US a ‘craphole.’”

The Hill: “Trump’s allies and those jockeying for a spot on the ticket have for weeks echoed his criticisms of the case, with several potential vice presidential contenders appearing at the courthouse in support of the former president. Following the verdict Thursday, they unleashed attacks on the judge, the district attorney and the legal system. … Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records, making him the first former president to be convicted of a felony.”

CNN: “Throughout Washington, Trump’s allies – some of them jockeying to be his running mate – responded Friday with a series of escalating calls for retribution on his behalf. … Several Republican senators – including vice presidential contenders Marco Rubio of Florida and JD Vance of Ohio – signed a letter signifying they would not work with the Biden administration to pass legislation, confirm his judicial nominees or increase nonsecurity spending.”

Miami Herald: “Florida Republicans vying to be Trump’s running mate lashed out Thursday after President Donald Trump was convicted in his Manhattan ‘hush money’ trial.”

The Hill: “Possible VP pick says Trump verdict does not ‘give me pause’ … GOP figures who have been floated as potential Trump running mates have rushed to his defense, backing up his criticisms of the case and knocking the judge who presided over it.” 

New York Times: “The Republican allies of former President Donald J. Trump wasted no time in blasting the guilty verdict returned by a New York jury on Thursday and in imploring him to appeal, repeatedly turning to words like ‘travesty’ and ‘injustice’ to describe the moment.”