周三晚上，大多数共和党总统候选人举手表示他们会支持唐纳德·特朗普即使他是个被定罪的罪犯。
六名候选人辩论阶段在密尔沃基，当被问及如果特朗普在法庭上被判有罪，他们是否会支持他成为该党的提名人时，他们举起了手。
第一个举手的是Vivek Ramaswamy，他承诺赦免特朗普。他很快被跟踪妮基·黑利蒂姆·斯科特和道格·博根。然后罗恩·德桑蒂斯甚至迈克·彭斯。
这个问题是在特朗普预计在佐治亚州投降的前一天提出的，他和其他18人因涉嫌试图推翻他在该州2020年选举中的失败而受到指控。特朗普否认在此案中有任何不当行为。
周四早上，在辩论后的早间节目中，一些候选人被要求解释。
彭斯曾在2021年1月6日挑战他的竞争对手说他做了正确的事情，声称特朗普“无权”试图推翻它或要求彭斯“让他凌驾于宪法之上”，尽管如此，他告诉美国有线电视新闻网，他本着共和党全国委员会的忠诚承诺，举手支持共和党提名人。
尽管他强调拒绝特朗普的努力是选民应该支持他的主要原因。
彭斯说:“嗯，看，我们台上的每一个人都签署了支持共和党提名人的承诺。”“坦率地说，我是本着这种精神举手的，只是为了信守我的诺言，”彭斯说。“但昨晚之后，我真的更加相信唐纳德·特朗普不会成为共和党提名人。”
2023年8月23日，前副总统迈克·彭斯在威斯康星州密尔沃基的Fiserv论坛上参加了第一场共和党总统初选辩论。
kamil Krzaczynski/法新社
海莉上场了“早安美国”当ABC新闻的乔治·斯特凡诺普洛斯反复询问她为什么要投票给一个被判有罪的重罪犯当美国总统时，她也有类似的回答。
“因为我不喜欢卡玛拉·哈里斯总统，”她说，指的是她经常使用的竞选口号之一，即投票给年迈的总统乔·拜登实际上是投票给哈里斯。
“我甚至不认为这会发展到唐纳德·特朗普成为总统的地步，”她继续说道。“我认为我会成为被提名人，我认为我们会赢。”
哈利和彭斯都强调，特朗普像其他任何被告一样，应该被推定无罪。
“我们将让这些法庭案件进行到底。在被证明有罪之前，每个人都是无辜的，”她继续说道。“我们看看会发生什么。如果他有罪，他将不得不面对。”
Burgum被要求详细说明，如果特朗普周四在“GMA3”上被判有罪，他为什么会支持特朗普。
Burgum称举手提问的方式是“愚蠢的”,但他说他最终会支持任何获得提名的人。
他说:“但是，你知道，是否所有的法庭程序，都将由法庭决定，选民将决定谁是谁的总统。”。
在周四上午接受福克斯新闻频道采访时，德桑蒂斯被问及特朗普即将在富尔顿县监狱被捕的政治影响。
“你知道，我不知道。我认为我们在所有这些案例中处于一种独特的情况，”州长回应道。“希望不会再有更多，我们可以专注于问题。”
然后他转向他的竞选，说他认为他的团队将“继续取得进展，这些早期的状态，我认为对我们来说非常积极，但你必须赢得它。你必须走出去，努力做到这一点。”
克里斯蒂握着他的手，抗议那些说即使被判有罪也支持特朗普的人，他说“说出关于特朗普的真相”是他当晚“最美好的时刻”。
这位前新泽西州州长将反对特朗普作为他2024年竞选的核心内容，称特朗普在辩论中的行为有失总统职位。
“如果他不在的时候你不愿意面对他，那他在的时候你又怎么会愿意面对他们呢?”克里斯蒂周四在美国有线电视新闻网露面时说。“我感到自豪的是，我是昨晚唯一一个愿意重复和直接这样做的人。”
GOP 2024 hopefuls questioned on Trump ahead of his jail surrender
With a show of hands Wednesday night, most Republican presidential hopefuls indicated they would backDonald Trumpeven if he's a convicted criminal.
Six candidates on thedebate stagein Milwaukee raised their hands when asked if they would support Trump as the party's nominee if he is found guilty in a court of law in one of the four cases against him.
The first hand to go in the air was that of Vivek Ramaswamy, who has promised to pardon Trump. He was soon followed byNikki Haley, Tim Scott and Doug Burgum. ThenRon DeSantisand even Mike Pence.
The question came one day before Trump's expected surrender in Georgia, where he and 18 other have been charged for alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the case.
On Thursday morning, in post-debate morning show appearances, some candidates were asked to explain.
Pence, who had challenged his rivals to say he did the right thing on Jan. 6, 2021, asserting Trump had "no right" to try to overturn it or ask Pence to "put him over the Constitution," nevertheless told CNN he raised his hand in the spirit of the Republican National Committee's loyalty pledge to support the GOP nominee.
That's despite highlighting his rejection of Trump's efforts as a main reason voters should support him.
"Well, look, every one of us on the stage signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee," Pence said. "And, frankly, my hand was raised in that spirit, just in keeping my word," Pence said. "But I really do believe more after last night that Donald Trump is not going to be the Republican nominee."
Haley on"Good Morning America"had a similar response when questioned repeatedly on by ABC News' George Stephanopoulos about why would she vote for a convicted felon to be president of the United States.
"Because I'm not comfortable with a President Kamala Harris," she said, a reference to one of her frequently used campaign lines that a vote for aging President Joe Biden is really a vote for Harris.
"I don't even think it's going to get to the point that Donald Trump becomes president," she continued. "I think that I'm going to be the nominee and I think that we are going to win."
Both Haley and Pence stressed Trump, like any other defendant, should have a presumption of innocence.
"We're going to let these court case play out. Everyone's innocent until proven guilty," she continued. "We'll see what happens. If he's guilty, he'll have to deal with it."
Burgum was asked to elaborate on why he'd back Trump if he's found guilty of charges on "GMA3" Thursday.
Burgum called the raising-hand approach to questions "goofy" but said he's ultimately going to back whoever becomes the nominee.
"But whether, you know, all all of the court proceedings, that's going to be decided by the court and the voters are going to decide who is who's president or not," he said.
DeSantis, during an interview with Fox News on Thursday morning, was asked about the political impact of Trump's impending arrest at Fulton County jail.
"You know, I don't know. I think that we're in a unique situation with all these cases," the governor responded. "Hopefully, there's no more, and we can just focus on the issues."
He then pivoted to his campaign, saying he thinks his team will "continue to be making progress, and these early states, I think it's going to be really positive for us, but you got to earn it. You've got to go out there and work hard to do it."
Christie, who shook his hand in protest of those who said they'd support Trump even if convicted, said "telling the truth about Trump" was his "best moment" of the night.
The former New Jersey governor has made opposing Trump a centerpiece of his 2024 bid, saying during the debate Trump's behavior was beneath the office of the presidency.
"If you're unwilling to confront him when he's not there, how the heck are you gonna be willing to confront them when he is?" Christie said during an appearance Thursday on CNN. "And I'm proud of the fact that I was the only one last night who was willing to do it repeatedly and directly."
