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J.D. Vance, in the Mix to Be Trump’s

Running Mate, Denounces Witness
Mr. Vance’s appearance in court could signal a new frontier in the
auditions to become Donald J. Trump’s running mate. He and
other Trump allies went after Michael D. Cohen.
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Senator J.D. Vance, Republican of Ohio, attended court with Donald J. Trump on
Monday. Pool photo by Mark Peterson

By Michael C. Bender , Nate Schweber and Michael Wilson

Reporting from Washington
May 13, 2024 Updated 3:09 p.m. ET

Senator J.D. Vance, an Ohio Republican, joined Donald J. Trump’s

entourage in court on Monday as the prosecution’s star witness,
Michael D. Cohen , the former president’s fixer-turned-nemesis,
took the stand.

Mr. Vance and other supporters of Mr. Trump attacked Mr. Cohen
and other participants in the trial in social media posts and a news
conference. The judge overseeing the case has barred Mr. Trump
from launching such broadsides.

“Every single person involved in this prosecution is practically a

Democratic political operative,” Mr. Vance told reporters in Collect
Pond Park, outside the courthouse. He added that it was a
“disgrace” that Mr. Trump could not say so himself. Mr. Trump is
barred from attacking a number of people involved in the case,
including witnesses and prosecutors, other than the Manhattan
district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg.

Mr. Vance’s presence could signal a new frontier for Mr. Trump’s
testing of potential running mates. The former president has been
encouraging vice-presidential contenders, including Mr. Vance, to
grant interviews to cable networks to measure their performance,
as well as inviting them to join him on the campaign trail and to
attend fund-raisers.

Mr. Vance, who had been aggressively critical of Mr. Trump before
running for office, has worked to repair that relationship, and is
now one of his most vocal defenders in the Senate. His seat in court
on Monday would seem to be the most visible show of that role.

During the past several weeks, Mr. Trump has often been joined in
the courtroom by aides — and occasionally, ideological allies —
who provide him support amid a trial that has exhumed mortifying
details of his personal life.

On Monday, other Republicans rounding out Mr. Trump’s posse

included Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama; Representative
Nicole Malliotakis of New York; Attorney General Steve Marshall
of Alabama and Attorney General Brenna Bird of Iowa.

“It is depressing. That courtroom is depressing,” Mr. Tuberville told

the reporters outside the courthouse. “This is New York City, icon
of our country, and we got a courtroom that’s the most depressing
thing I’ve ever been in.”

Ms. Malliotakis, of Staten Island, bashed Mr. Bragg for prosecuting

this case and not others.

“We have drug smugglers who are poisoning our children,” she
said, adding, “We have illegal immigrant gang members wreaking
havoc in our city. We see career criminals being released over and
over again.”

A spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, citing statistics

indicating that rates major crimes in the city are down, otherwise
declined to comment.

Ms. Bird called what she saw in court “a travesty,” and Mr.
Marshall agreed.

“I have never seen in my career a greater perversion of the

criminal justice system,” he said.

Mr. Vance, attacking a witness as Mr. Trump cannot, dismissed the

morning’s testimony from Mr. Cohen, who was Mr. Trump’s former
fixer. Mr. Cohen described from the witness stand media deals
meant to bury embarrassing stories. He discussed the 2016 double
bombshells of the “Access Hollywood” tape, in which Mr. Trump
discussed groping women, and the threat of Stormy Daniels, a porn
actress, going public with her account of an affair with the
candidate.

“I think his testimony is going to hurt with any reasonable juror,”

Mr. Vance said, “and hopefully we have a few of those.”

Mr. Trump’s support group inside the courtroom added to the

atmosphere of the trial by posting live updates on social media.

Among the Republican politicians was Eric Trump, one of Mr.

Trump’s sons.

“I have never seen anything more rehearsed!” Eric Trump posted

as Mr. Cohen testified.

Andrew Giuliani, another Trump ally and the son of his former
lawyer Rudy Giuliani, sat in the back row of the courtroom, where
he posted that Mr. Cohen was a “serial liar.” He also smeared the
Manhattan district attorney’s office, which brought the case.

Michael C. Bender is a Times political correspondent covering Donald J. Trump, the

Make America Great Again movement and other federal and state elections. More about
Michael C. Bender
Michael Wilson , who covers New York City, has been a Times reporter for more than two
decades. More about Michael Wilson

See more on: Donald Trump , 2024 Elections

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LIVE Updated 22s ago

Trump Trial Live Updates: Michael Cohen Testifies in Hush-Money

Case
Cohen describes his efforts to protect Trump’s campaign. Here’s the latest.

Worry about women voters drove Trump’s hush-money decisions, Cohen

testifies.

Trump stays calm in court. His emails tell a different story.

David Pecker, blurring journalism and business interests, mastered ‘catch

and kill’ deals.

Fixer, lawyer, and ‘designated thug’: Here’s what Michael Cohen did for
Trump.

Our Coverage of the Trump Hush-Money Trial

News and Analysis
Michael Cohen was paid to fix Donald Trump’s problems. Now, as he prepares to
take the stand in Trump’s criminal trial, he’s one of them .

Ahead of Cohen’s testimony, Justice Juan Merchan told prosecutors to keep

Cohen from speaking about the case .

Witnesses have described Trump monitoring the minutiae of his business , a

portrait prosecutors are drawing to help convince the jury that he couldn’t have
helped but oversee the hush-money payment.

More on Trump’s Legal Troubles

Key Inquiries: Trump faces several investigations at both the state and the federal
levels, into matters related to his business and political careers.
Case Tracker: Keep track of the developments in the criminal cases involving the
former president.
What if Trump Is Convicted?: Could he go to prison ? And will any of the
proceedings hinder Trump’s presidential campaign? Here is what we know , and
what we don’t know .

Trump on Trial Newsletter: Sign up here to get the latest news and analysis on
the cases in New York, Florida, Georgia and Washington, D.C.

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