Republicans flock to court to 'kiss the ring' during Trump criminal trial – The Washington Post
Ambitious Republicans are eagerly parachuting onto the sidelines of the first criminal trial of a former president, with even onetime Trump critics and dissenters plunging themselves into the proceedings.
NEW YORK — Sen. J.D. Vance, who once recoiled from Donald Trump’s lewd comments about women, was in court to support Trump this week as prosecutors rehashed the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape that upended his 2016 campaign.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), an amiable advocate of conservative Christian morals, came to the courthouse the next day to call Trump’s trial a “shame,” a “travesty” and a “partisan witch hunt.” He left without taking questions, including one referencing the allegation that Trump falsified business records to cover up a hush money payment to a porn actress.