Indict, Rally, Repeat: Reactions to Latest Trump Charges Follow Familiar Script

Donald Trump’s legal woes may have deepened, but his political standing in the Republican Party continues to show remarkable resilience amid a presidential race taking the country into uncharted territory.

Tuesday’s indictment by a federal grand jury in Washington charged Trump as responsible for efforts to reverse his 2020 election defeat and then prompting an attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The new charges divided the GOP field running against Trump for the 2024 nomination, while triggering key Republicans on Capitol Hill to rally to the former president’s side. Among voters, the latest legal action appears likely to energize Trump’s most ardent supporters and exacerbate national divisions as the presidential race heats up.

Rachel Cadena, a Republican insurance adjuster in Iowa, said the indictment is part of a pattern of corruption she sees in the federal government. “They are just trying to protect themselves because Trump is exposing it all,” said Cadena, who plans to back Trump in the Jan. 15 caucuses that start the nomination process.