'Will' you: Republican rival criticises Trump for running for 2024, says move is ‘to stay out of jail’

Donald Trump’s bid for the 2024 election is seen by one of his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination as a move to evade potential legal consequences, amidst ongoing legal challenges faced by the former president.

Will Hurd, a former Republican representative from Texas offered a sharp rebuke of Trump’s conduct in an interview with CNN. Meanwhile, Chris Christie raised doubts about whether “the individual facing indictment in four separate cases” could prevail against the Democratic incumbent, Joe Biden.

This critique of Trump, who holds a comfortable lead in Republican polls, coincides with the refusal of several primary candidates – including the former president himself – to commit to supporting the eventual GOP nominee.

On Sunday, Hurd addressed a CNN report linking Trump’s legal team to a breach of the voting system in Georgia in January 2021. According to CNN, prosecutors had uncovered correspondences detailing efforts by Trump’s team to attain “unauthorized access to voting systems” in Coffee County.

Hurd remarked during CNN’s State of the Union, “In my view, this incident illustrates that this is not merely about the first amendment,” referring to the constitutional protection of political speech. “This centers on a president’s endeavour to overturn an election and fabricate a conspiracy.”

While referring to the constitutional protection for political speech, Hurd told CNN’s State of the Union “I think this is an example of how this is not about the first amendment. This is about a president trying to overturn an election and creating a conspiracy.”

“It is one more example of why Donald Trump is running for president: because he’s trying to stay out of jail. Because as more of this information comes out and as the American people recognise the extent of his baggage, they’re getting sick and tired of it,” he said.

Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey and a contender for the GOP nomination, brought attention to the legal challenges faced by Donald Trump during an interview on ABC’s This Week show. Trump has faced indictment three times already, with an impending fourth indictment on state election-related charges anticipated in Georgia.

During the interview, Christie highlighted the possibility of Trump being indicted in Atlanta and stated, “Let me remind the viewers out there: if he’s indicted in Atlanta this week, as we’re anticipating that he will be, we will have the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president out on bail in four different jurisdictions: New York, Miami, Washington, and Atlanta.” These jurisdictions encompass the locations where various federal and state authorities have lodged charges against Trump.

Christie continued by posing crucial questions for Republican voters, asking if an individual under indictment in multiple cases and implicated in certain conduct can effectively compete against Joe Biden or any other Democratic candidate in the November 2024 election.

He also expressed his concern about the normalization of such circumstances, emphasizing that it is neither normal nor acceptable.

The scrutiny of Trump’s situation coincides with several Republican primary candidates declining to sign a pledge committing to support the ultimate GOP nominee.

Republican National Committee chairperson Ronna McDaniel has commented on this refusal, stating that endorsing the pledge is a prerequisite for participating in the first GOP primary debate scheduled for the following week.