Lara Trumpthe co-chair of the Republican National Committee, on Sunday condemned former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) for not coming out to defend her father-in-law, former President Donald Trump, who was found guilty of 34 counts of forgery business details in his hush money lawsuit.
Hogan issued a statement Thursday, ahead of the announcement of the former president’s sentencing, urging Americans to “respect the verdict and the legal process” regardless of the outcome.
“At this dangerously divisive moment in our history, all leaders – regardless of party – must not add fuel to the fire with more toxic partisanship,” Hogan said in his statement. “We must reaffirm what made this nation great: the rule of law.”
In an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union,” Lara Trump came out strongly against Hogan, who is now the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Maryland.
“I think it’s ridiculous, and I think anyone who doesn’t speak out against something that should never have seen the light of day again, a lawsuit that should never have been filed against anyone other than Donald Trump, doesn’t do so.” I deserve the respect of anyone,” she said.
Hogan “doesn’t deserve the respect of anyone in the Republican Party right now, and frankly, no one in America,” she continued.
When asked if the RNC would still be willing to spend party resources to support Hogan’s Senate bid, Trump responded: “I’ll get back to you on all the details on the monetary front, but what I can tell you is that if co-chairman of the Republican Party I don’t think he should have ever said something like that.”
Chris LaCivita, co-manager of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, also took issue with Hogan’s comments.
“You just ended your campaign,” LaCivita wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Hogan, a moderate Republican, served as governor of Maryland for eight years but was barred from running again due to term limits. About a third of registered Democrats in the state crossed the party line twice to vote for him.
Hogan is now running for a seat held by retiring Senator Ben Cardin (D), giving Republicans an opportunity in a deep blue state.
Earlier this year, Hogan considered running for president, but ultimately decided against it. He is one of the few Republicans who has been publicly critical of the former president.
In March, Hogan explained his decision to stay out of the Republican presidential primaries in an op-ed in the New York Times. “We cannot afford to have Trump be our candidate and suffer defeat for the fourth consecutive election cycle,” he wrote. “To be a successful party of government again, we must distance ourselves from Mr. Trump.”
A week later, Trump easily won the required number of delegates to secure the Republican Party’s presidential nomination.
