By: Marianna Bacallao
May 31st, 2024
Tennessee Republicans are reiterating their support for former President Donald Trump after a New York jury found him guilty on all counts in a history-making criminal case. The trial centered on allegations Trump falsified business records to make hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Gov. Bill Lee dismissed the validity of the jury’s decision.
“A politicized justice system does nothing to serve the American people. Voters in Tennessee and across the country recognize this verdict for what it is — a political attack — and they’ll bring a change on Election Day in November,” Gov. Bill Lee said on social media.U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn called the verdict “undemocratic and un-American.” The Tennessee Republican was one of a dozen names Trump mentioned as possible vice president picks for his upcoming bid for the White House. In recently released audio, Trump likened her skills on the campaign trail to the “Energizer bunny,” saying that she would constantly be going from “stop to stop to stop.”
Blackburn’s fellow U.S. Senator, Bill Hagerty, criticized the timing of Trump’s upcoming sentencing. The former president is due in court on July 11, four days before the Republican National Convention is set to begin in Milwaukee.
U.S. Congressman Andy Ogles of Maury County called the verdict “an embarrassment.” His Democratic colleague in the House, U.S. Congressman Steve Cohen from Memphis, celebrated the outcome.“This is an interesting time in our history,” wrote Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis. “And how we react determines our future. Democracy must rise above politics.”