Local reaction to Trump's indictment: anger, division and some constraint
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In Volusia County, one needed travel no further than O’Leary’s Irish Pub in the DeBary Commons shopping plaza to get a sense of the divided opinions regarding the indictment of former President Donald Trump.
“I’m thankful,” said Alex Carmichel, 73, a retired Methodist minister who lives in DeBary. “It goes against all ethical standards for him to go out with a prostitute and pay her so it doesn’t go public.”
Nearby, DeBary resident Joe Giardino, 68, a former New Yorker, called the indictment the work of “a Soros-funded liberal D.A. digging up a case for what I feel is a political agenda,” a reference to billionaire investor and liberal donor George Soros.
“I’m not a great fan of Mr. Trump,” Giardino said, “but I feel that nowadays our FBI and D.A.s (district attorneys) have a political agenda.”
Yesterday evening, Trump's lawyers confirmed that a New York grand jury voted to indict Trump on unspecified criminal charges. The case marks the first time a former president has been charged criminally. The grand jury had been investigating hush money payments to two women who claimed to have had sex with him.
No major protests so far
Public reaction was quiet in the wake of the announcement, as far as the usual local protest spots were concerned.
In West Volusia County, there were no Trump supporters out late Thursday afternoon at the busy intersection of Saxon Boulevard and Enterprise Road in Orange City, a frequent gathering spot for flag-waving Trump fans during the presidential election season and afterward.
More: Trump indictment: One of these 3 things likely will happen next
Likewise, all was quiet at the bridges to the beaches at West Granada Boulevard and International Speedway Boulevard.
Reaction from local public officials was also divided, but in some cases, restrained.
"I don't find any glory in that," said Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry said of the indictment. "It's a sad situation. I wish for unity in our country. It's not a good thing. It's my prayer it won't bring violence. I support the Constitution and the rule of law. I'm praying for our country and (Trump's) family. I want peace in America."
Weaponization of the justice system
Former Republican statehouse member David Santiago, now a county commissioner was less sanguine, saying the "justice system just continues to be weaponized." He says all officials are not being treated equally, pointing to Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden as an example.
Daytona Beach City Commissioner Ken Strickland said he didn't want to comment on a national issue.
"It shouldn't affect us one way or another. We have very pressing local concerns we need to spend our time on with the state government making a move on our home rule," he said, speaking of efforts by the legislature to take away local power.
County Council Chair Jeff Brower commented via text message: "The president was already acquitted for this. I hate to see the politicization of our justice system. This is destructive to America."
County Councilman Don Dempsey via telephone said he hasn't heard the evidence, so he can't say whether the charges are warranted or not. He said he hopes the process was fair and remains that way. He said he is sure people have opinions about whether it's politically motivated.
"I hate to see any of our leaders ever get charged for anything inappropriate. I mean, that's a president. Whether that's a Democrat or a Republican, it's our leader and he's being charged."
Palm Coast reaction
Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin said he was very surprised when he heard the news. Alfin, who is a Republican, said he was speaking personally and not as the mayor.
“I was rather shocked. I thought that prior to yesterday it had been a political game of pandering and campaigning on the part of opponents, the left side of politics and was absolutely amazed or shocked that it would come to an indictment and create a historical moment and not a good one for the country.”
He said he agreed with Gov. Ron DeSantis who tweeted in part that the indictment was the “weaponization of the legal system.”
Alfin said his “spider-sense” always wakes up when a precedent is set, which means this could be done again.
Alfin is the former treasurer of the Flagler County Republican Club and current member of the Republican Executive Committee of Flagler County. He said the timing of the indictment, past the halfway point in the political cycle, was “very suspect.”
Palm Coast Vice Mayor Ed Danko, who is a board member of the Flagler Trump Republican Assembly blasted the indictment in an email. He texted a copy to the News-Journal. He did not hold back.
“Today, with this unjustified arrest of President Trump, these Radical Leftists have sunk to a perilous new Third-World low in their shameless immoral attempts to seize power,” Danko wrote. “These Liberal Lefties know they cannot beat President Trump in 2024 at the ballot box, so they now follow the lead of Socialist Banana Republic Dictators and illegally arrest President Trump, the leading Republican Candidate for President.”
Flagler County District 4 Commissioner Leann Pennington, a Republican, said she is waiting to see the details of the indictment.
“I’m hoping that we are not witnessing just a political witch hunt at this point. I don’t know why it would take so long to come up with these charges. I don’t think any of it is good for America right now. It just causes more division among us. It's just not what we need.”
'Blatant political persecution'
Volusia County Republican State Committeeman Vic Baker said the Trump indictment will only help the former president’s 2024 campaign.
“Alvin Bragg (the Manhattan District Attorney) deserves to be the honorary chairman of the reelect Donald Trump campaign,” Baker said.
That’s because it puts Trump in the spotlight for “months and months on end,” which will “do nothing but firm up support for MAGA Nation,” Baker said.
He predicted the New York case against Trump will harm a potential campaign launched by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“He is not happy about this, either, because it puts Donald Trump in the forefront of everything. It will suck the oxygen out of every other campaign as far as I'm concerned,” Baker said.
He acknowledged not knowing what is in the indictment, but said the details of the “hush payment” to porn star Stormy Daniels have been reviewed by other prosecutors, who have rejected it as a criminal case because it “clearly is flimsy.”
Baker said the timing, with Trump being said to face indictment next week, Holy Week, is a “strange scenario” for Christians, who remember Christ’s crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection from the dead on Easter Sunday.
“They’re going to be trotting (Trump) out as a criminal defendant during Easter Week. What a nice analogy that is,” Baker said.
He said he wasn’t comparing Trump, “who is not a perfect man,” to Christ, but believes the indictment of the former president is “blatant political persecution.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia reacts to Trump indictment
