SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO/AP) — KELOLAND News asked all three members of South Dakota’s congressional delegation on Thursday what they think about Donald Trump facing criminal charges in four cases.
“The cases are pilling up,” Sen. John Thune said. “We’ll just let the justice system work. Clearly he’s going to have an opportunity to have a trial with a jury of his peers, and he’s innocent in our system until proven guilty, so we’ll see how the process plays out.”
“Maybe the president did something he shouldn’t have done, or maybe one or more of these indictments are politically motivated,” Rep. Dusty Johnson said. “We know occasionally that does happen. But the nice thing about when the facts come out, everybody in America is going to have a better understanding of which of those two possibilities is true.”
“You know what, a lot of us decided that we were going to support someone else for president,” Sen. Mike Rounds said. “I’m supporting Tim Scott because I don’t have to worry about him having indictments. I don’t have to worry about criminal accusations being made.”
Nationally, Trump still appears to have strong support despite the legal cases. Thune and Johnson declined to say whether they would back a convicted Trump in 2024.
“Oh, it’s way too early to talk about a general election when we’re in the primary,” Johnson said.
“I’m reluctant at this point to make any pronouncements about what we may or may not do,” Thune said. “I think you got to let this process play out, see what conclusions our justice system comes to, what that might mean for the former president.”
Rounds makes clear that his support would be elsewhere.
“I’m still really fired up that Tim Scott is going to be that nominee, and I look forward to supporting someone who my kids would be proud of as well,” Rounds said. “And so for me, I’m past that point of supporting the former president. I am looking forward to supporting Tim Scott.”