In a strategic move, Donald Trump’s campaign is mobilizing its top allies, including potential vice presidential candidates, to mount a robust media defense for the former president as he faces an unprecedented criminal trial in New York City, according to his advisers.
Recently, the Trump campaign has disseminated a list of talking points to his allies and directly scheduled surrogates on television, aiming to saturate the media with the former president’s top allies. Trump has expressed his desire for extensive media coverage of his court appearances, including having his supporters defend him on television.
This strategy of maximizing media coverage through Trump’s surrogates is not a new tactic. It mirrors the approach his team used following each of his indictments. However, the timing of this media defense campaign introduces a new dynamic. The trial is taking place amidst uncertainty about how the case’s salacious details will resonate with general election voters and as Trump is considering potential running mates.
Several of Trump’s prospective VP picks are independently taking the initiative to defend him, without prompting from the former president’s campaign. Republican strategist Gregg Keller emphasized the high stakes for both the president and his surrogates, noting that their words will be closely scrutinized by the president and his closest advisors.
At least four potential Trump VP contenders have already appeared on TV or made social media statements undermining the credibility of the case and its participants, or falsely alleging election interference. Among them, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has dismissed the case as a “sham trial” and a product of a “politically motivated” district attorney.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, the House Republican conference chair, and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance have also publicly criticized the case, while Sen. Tim Scott has painted the situation as an example of “election engineering” by the radical Left.
The campaign’s talking points, labeled “The Biden Trial, Talking Points,” echo the former president’s language in attacking the case. They instruct Trump surrogates to portray the trial as an attack on American Democracy and the Constitution and a witch hunt designed to damage Trump’s potential 2024 White House bid.
The document also directs supporters to avoid referring to the case as a “hush money case,” instead describing it as “entries in the company’s records,” and asserting that Trump “did not control the books.”
Throughout the document, there is a strong emphasis on Trump’s innocence, with repeated assertions that “President Trump did nothing wrong, his position has never wavered.” The talking points also stress that Trump will “never stop fighting” for the American people.