By Steve Peoples and Jill Colvin
BEDMINSTER, N.J. — Just last week, former Vice President Mike Pence said he hoped federal prosecutors would not bring charges against former President Donald Trump. On Wednesday, a day after Trump was arraigned on dozens of felony counts related to classified documents, Pence described the allegations as “a very serious matter.”
“I cannot defend what is alleged,” Pence, who is now challenging Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, said on CNBC. Later in the day, the former vice president faced pointed questions from a conservative radio host after refusing to say whether he would pardon Trump if given the chance.
Pence’s evolving message highlights the high-stakes dilemma for Trump’s Republican rivals, who are struggling to find a clear and consistent strategy to take on the front-runner as Trump’s unprecedented legal troubles threaten to dominate all other issues in the 2024 presidential contest.
Some Republican leaders this week have demonstrated a newfound willingness to criticize Trump over the seriousness of the allegations, which include mishandling government secrets that as commander in chief he was entrusted to protect.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a former naval officer and Trump’s top rival for the nomination, said that “if I would have taken classified (documents) to my apartment, I would have been court-martialed in a New York minute.”
But that was just a brief mention in a weekend speech at a North Carolina GOP gathering, during which he focused his censure on the Justice Department and the Biden administration.
It’s been much the same for other challengers. Even the most aggressive have layered their criticism of Trump with attacks against the Justice Department — for bringing charges against him — that make it difficult at times to determine exactly where they stand on the former president.
And that’s precisely the point, given Trump’s continued popularity among GOP…
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