Some Republicans, in an effort to highlight the connection between their anger over his conviction and their hopes for Election Day, posted a Trump fundraiser link along with their statements of support.

The Republican Party wasted no time in condemning the former president Donald Trump’s conviction in New York on Thursday for 34 felonies. They were confident that this verdict would motivate the GOP base in the run-up to the November election.

GOP lawmakers condemned the trial, calling it a thinly-veiled attempt to interfere in Trump’s bid for the White House. They predicted that Trump would win on appeal and also against Joe Biden this fall. To underscore the obvious link between their anger over the verdict and the hopes they have for Election Day, some Republicans – like House Majority Leader Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota – immediately posted a Trump fundraiser link along with their statements.

“Today, in American history, is a day of shame.” Democrats cheered when they convicted the leader the opposing political party on absurd charges based on the testimony of an disbarred convicted felon,” said Speaker Mike Johnson in a press release. This was a political, not legal exercise.

Even as the guilty verdicts for the case were being read, House Judiciary chair Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio fired off a statement criticizing the court’s ruling.

Jordan, an ardent Trump supporter, said that the verdict was a travesty. The Manhattan kangaroo courts shows what happens when our Justice System is weaponized by biased prosecutors before a biased judge in an unfair process. It was designed to keep Trump off the campaign trails and to avoid drawing attention to President Biden’s failed radical policies.

Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee and a staunch Trump supporter, said in a press release that “I anticipate this case will be reversed” and predicted that Democrats would pay for a trial they believe is designed to harm Trump.

Graham continued, “This verdict speaks more about the system and the allegations than the verdict itself.” It will be seen to be politically motivated and unfair and will have a huge backlash on the left.

The two Senate leaders made terse statements after the verdict on Thursday night, without mentioning Trump.

No one is above law. Chuck Schumer, Majority Leader, said: “The verdict speaks for itself.”

Mitch McConnell said: “These accusations never should have been made in the first instance.” McConnell has a rocky history with Trump, and avoids mentioning him at his weekly news conferences. I expect that the conviction will be overturned by an appeal.”

Trump was charged with 34 counts for falsifying records of business as part of a plan to suppress stories that were politically damaging during the 2016 campaign. Prosecutors claimed that the records were falsified in a scheme to pay Stormy Daniels a pornstar who claimed a sexual relationship with Trump.

The verdict has revealed a clear path for Republicans to take in the battleground races of this fall: Standing with Trump. Before the verdict, vulnerable GOP lawmakers had no hesitation in portraying the trial and its outcome as a witch-hunt.

Steve Daines, R-Mont., said: “This verdict is an utter sham. The American people are well aware of it.” In a press release, the chair of Senate Republican campaign said that this verdict was a sham. In order to serve justice, this verdict must be reversed on appeal.

Hill Democrats, meanwhile, cheered Thursday’s verdict after largely avoiding the proceedings while they were played out. Even though they praised the result, their political calculus was more complex. They were focusing on a larger campaign-trail messaging that a Trump second term would be a return of an unpredictable leader who is prone to spreading falsehoods and seeking revenge against his political enemies.

“Today’s verdict on all 34 counts confirms what we knew all along: Donald Trump is unfit for any elected office, much less President of the United States.” “I was proud to have led both impeachments against Donald Trump and I could not be prouder to be a New Yorker, now that Manhattan has been the first to convict him as a felony,” said Rep. Jerry Nadler, the top Democrat of the Judiciary Committee.

Democrats who spoke out on Thursday repeated a familiar refrain: the case demonstrated that no one in America is above law.

Adam Schiff, a California Democratic Senate candidate and a key figure during Trump’s impeachment proceedings, said: “Despite his attempts to distract, delay and deny, justice was delivered for Donald Trump.” “And the rule-of-law prevailed.”

Rank-and-file Republicans, including potential vice presidential picks like Sen. J.D. Vance (Ohio), Byron Donalds, (Florida), and others made the trip to New York during the trial. Johnson and other members of Congress joined them.

Vance stated after the verdict, “I have confidence that the American people will decide the election in 2024, not corrupt judges or prosecutors.”

GOP lawmakers attacked the case and the presiding judge Juan Merchan in personal terms, as Trump fought against a gag-order that prevented him from attacking witnesses and jurors, or prosecutors.