How the 2024 Republican candidates reacted to their Trump’s indictment

Former President Donald Trump’s Republican presidential rivals responded to his historic federal indictment in a number of ways — from criticizing the Justice Department to urging him to drop out of the 2024 race.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — considered Trump’s biggest political threat — called out the DOJ for bias against Republicans.

“The arming of federal law enforcement poses a mortal threat to a free society. For years we have witnessed uneven application of the law depending on political affiliation,” DeSantis said in a tweet Thursday night. “Why so zealous about chasing Trump yet so passive about Hillary or Hunter?”

He promised that a DeSantis administration would “deposit accountability to the DOJ, excise political bias, and end armaments once and for all.”

Former Vice President Mike Pence — who announced his presidential bid against Trump earlier this week — canceled a scheduled appearance at Hannity Thursday night when news of the indictment broke. The Messenger reported that on Friday.

Trump is indicted in the classified documents case and will appear in court in Miami on Tuesday. Shown are classified documents found during the Mar-a-Lago raid in August

“It wasn’t a mutual cancellation,” the source told The Messenger, as Pence declined to answer questions about the Trump indictment.

Speaking about the indictment on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show Friday morning, Pence said he was “deeply disturbed” by the DOJ’s action against his former boss.

“Well, I think it’s important to note that we don’t know the facts in this case. Nobody does,” Pence also said.

Pence also said the investigation into his handling of classified documents ended last week, with investigators determining “it was an innocent mistake.”

And my only hope is that when we learn more about the facts of this indictment next week, the American people in this case will recognize that they have met the high standards necessary to bring the unprecedented federal indictment against a former president of justifying the United States by the current president of the US Department of Justice, and by a potential rival,” Pence continued.

Like DeSantis, Pence pledged that if he won the presidency, he would clean up the DOJ and “appoint men and women of integrity at every level who will restore the public faith of the American people in equal justice under the law.”

Only former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson said Trump should drop out.

“This is a sad day for our country. While Donald Trump is entitled to the presumption of innocence, the ongoing criminal proceedings will be a major distraction. This reaffirms the need for Donald Trump to honor office and end his campaign,” Hutchinson said.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — who has positioned himself as the GOP candidate most likely to criticize Trump — suggested Americans should wait and see what the indictment says, which remains sealed, before passing judgment.

“We don’t get our news from Trump’s Truth Social account,” Christie said. “Let’s see what the facts are when a possible verdict is released.”

“As I’ve said before, no one is above the law, however much they’d like to be. We will have more to say when the facts come to light,” the former governor added.

Trump’s former UN Amb. Nikki Haley had to report Friday morning.