ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 24: Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media at Atlanta ... [+]
Former Republican Rep. Joe Walsh compared former President Donald Trump to a “cult leader” and described the GOP as “a cult” in the wake of Trump’s surrendering on criminal charges for a fourth time. “This is not a normal political party,” Walsh told MSNBC’s Symone Sanders-Townsend on Sunday. “Donald Trump is a cult leader. He's become a martyr. Every indictment, every trial Symone, only strengthens him within Republican voters.”
“Overwhelmingly, the nomination is his,” Walsh said of Trump, who continues to poll well ahead of his Republican challengers for the GOP nomination in 2024. “And I worry and I fear that even in a general election it may help him. Imagine if he's acquitted or imagine if there's a hung jury on one of these trials. The possibilities scare me and should scare all of us.”
Former Rep. Joe Walsh on MSNBC's 'Symone'
In the MSNBC interview, political contributor Brianne Pfannensteil noted that in Iowa, “65 percent of likely Republican caucus goers” who planned to take part in the state’s caucuses in January “believe Donald Trump has not committed any serious crimes.”
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 24: In this handout provided by the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, former ... [+]
Pointing to the Trump campaign’s use of the former president’s mug shot as a fundraising tool, Pfannensteil said “these are the people that he’s talking to,” people who see Trump as the victim of political persecution.
Trump’s campaign said they’ve raised more than $7 million since the mug shot was released Thursday, after Trump was booked on 13 felony counts related to his effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
The campaign said it raised $4.18 million on donaldSaturday alone, saying it was their highest-grossing day of the campaign to date. "Organic money has skyrocketed, especially after President Trump tweeted out the picture along with the website," the spokesperson said.