Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump on Sunday took aim at Maryland Republican Senate candidate Larry Hogan in response to his call for Americans to respect the verdict in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial.
“Well, I’ll tell you one thing: I don’t support what he just said there,” Lara Trump said during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I think it’s ridiculous and I think anybody who’s not speaking up in the face of really something that should never again have seen the light of day at trial, that would never have been brought against any other person aside from Donald Trump, doesn’t deserve the respect of anyone.”
“He doesn’t deserve the respect of anyone in the Republican Party at this point,” she added. “And quite frankly, anybody in America if that’s the way you feel. That’s very upsetting to hear that.”
Asked whether the RNC is willing to cede the Senate seat in Maryland to Democrats and not support Hogan’s bid, Lara Trump said the committee wants the Republican Party to win, but that Hogan’s remarks are a “shame” and that “he should have thought long and hard before he said that publicly.”
Pressed again on whether the RNC will use the party’s resources to support Hogan’s Senate bid, Lara Trump dodged the question and again criticized Hogan’s comments.
“Well, I’ll get back to you on all the specifics monetarily. But what I can tell you is that as the Republican Party co-chair, I think he should never have said something like that,” she said. “I think that’s ridiculous.”
Hogan, an outspoken Trump critic and former Maryland governor, urged “all Americans to respect” the verdict in Trump’s hush money trial in a post to X last week.
“Regardless of the result, I urge all Americans to respect the verdict and the legal process,” Hogan wrote in a post on X last week. “At this dangerously divided moment in our history, all leaders — regardless of party — must not pour fuel on the fire with more toxic partisanship. We must reaffirm what has made this nation great: the rule of law.”
Hogan’s Senate campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The RNC co-chair’s remarks on CNN come after Chris LaCivita, a senior Trump campaign adviser, made similar remarks last week. In a post on X, LaCivita said Hogan’s Senate campaign “ended” after he called for the public to “respect the verdict and the legal process.”
During her interview on CNN, Lara Trump also declined to detail the amount of fundraising that will cover the former president’s legal fees.
The RNC co-chair on Sunday argued that voters have “spoken with their wallets and their pocketbooks,” boasting that the RNC raised roughly $70 million in digital fundraising in the first 48 hours after Trump’s verdict was handed down.
Asked how much of that money would be used to pay for the former president’s legal fees, the RNC co-chair said they would have to “wait and see.”
“Well, everybody has an option whenever they donate to our joint fundraising agreement to opt out of,” she said. “It is a very small percentage of the money that we take in. And so I would have to say we’ll wait and see what is necessary in the future.”
“Obviously, this has been a very costly thing, not just for Donald Trump and his campaign but for America,” she added. “This stain that this has put on our country I think is abominable. And we’ll do whatever we need to do to ensure that the right thing happens on Nov. 5, because that’s when the ultimate verdict will be rendered.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Amanda Smith is a dedicated U.S. correspondent with a passion for uncovering the stories that shape the nation. With a background in political science, she provides in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on domestic affairs, ensuring readers are well-informed about the latest developments across the United States.
