Summary:
- Several of Donald Trump’s Republican allies, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, Sen. Rick Scott, Sen. J.D. Vance, and Sen. Tommy Tuberville, have been defending Trump outside his hush money/falsified business records trial in Manhattan.
- These Republicans, acting as Trump’s surrogates, have irritated Justice Juan Merchan, who imposed a partial gag order on Trump during the trial.
- CNN’s Kaitlan Collins reported that the judge appeared visibly annoyed by the presence of pro-Trump Republicans in the courtroom during the trial.
- The group included former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, Rep. Byron Donalds, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, among others.
