Donald Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury yesterday (March 30) in the first criminal case against a former US president. Since then, many celebrities from the entertainment world have shared their thoughts on the decision.
The charges facing the former POTUS stem from 2016, when adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal claimed they were paid to try to hush up allegations of extramarital affairs.
According to the allegations, in late 2016 – during his presidential campaign – Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 (£105,300) to keep quiet about an incident a decade earlier. At that time, Cohen also arranged for National EnquirerMcDougal’s publisher must pay $150,000 (£121,238) to prevent story about affair with Trump.
The historic event marks the first criminal case against a former president of the United States. He is due to appear for his charges at 2.15pm on Tuesday (April 4) and will reportedly face more than 30 charges – the specifics of which remain unknown at this time.
In a statement, attorneys Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina said (via Associated Press): “He did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this political persecution in court.”
Trump also issued a statement in response to the indictment, calling the event a “witch hunt” led by “radical left-wing Democrats.”
“Democrats lied, cheated and stole in their obsession with trying to ‘get Trump,’ but now they’ve done the unthinkable,” he wrote, “Accusing a completely innocent man of an act of blatant election interference.”
Following the announcement, several celebrities from the entertainment world shared their thoughts on the remarkable situation – including Questlove, Garbage and George Takei.
“I am grateful to federal law enforcement [is] sending a strong signal that violent, anti-government protests by MAGA and militias will not be tolerated,” the latter tweeted.
As Trump faces impeachment, I am grateful that federal law enforcement under the leadership of Merrick Garland has arrested over 1,000 rioters since January 6, sending a strong signal that violent, anti-government protests by MAGA and militias will not be tolerated.
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) March 30, 2023
Garbage took to Instagram, sharing a photo of the former president with the caption, “Making America Great Again.” Meanwhile, Bette Midler simply tweeted, “ACCUSED!” See more responses from the entertainment world below.
WE BLAME!
— bettemidler (@BetteMidler) March 30, 2023
…….. https://t.co/7HgtVuOU7N
— Plug 5. (@questlove) March 30, 2023
START SPREADING THE NEW WWWWWSSSSS
— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) March 30, 2023
Trump accused! First among many!
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) March 30, 2023
Wise up, Republicans. Don’t believe the lies. This is not political. Donald Trump did this to himself.
He betrayed your trust.— Stephen King (@StephenKing) March 30, 2023
BREAKING: This is the first time in US history that a current or former ‘Home Alone 2’ cast member has been accused of paying hush money to a porn star to influence an election pic.twitter.com/pGWSCk4zOO
— Zack Bornstein (@ZackBornstein) March 30, 2023
Tough day for Home Alone 2 fans.
— Mike Drucker (@Mike Drucker) March 30, 2023
first they came for donald trump and i didn’t say – because i was laughing so hard i couldn’t catch my breath
— Jeff Tiedrich (@itsJeffTiedrich) March 30, 2023
The former president also faces investigations into his alleged involvement in the 2020 election meddling by his supporters, the attack on the US Capitol in January 2021 and his handling of classified documents after he was in office.
Earlier today (March 31), it was reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considered Donald Trump’s dinner with Kanye West a “big mistake.” The rapper met with the former US president at the latter’s Florida estate in November 2022. “I thought it was terrible and I said so. I think this is a big mistake,” Netanyahu said.
He continued, referring to West’s recent spate of anti-Semitic comments: “It’s wrong from every point of view. It should not be approved, it should not be accepted, it should be rebuked and condemned, and that is what I am doing. And I don’t care where it comes from or who.”