Rep. Santos opposes Donald Trump’s indictment

The New York Young Republicans Club organized a rally at Collect Pond Park on April 4 in support of former President Donald Trump, who sat across the street, in a Manhattan criminal courtroom, and pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of filing false business records.

Amid a small sea of “Make America Great Again” hats and “Trump 2024” flags were U.S. Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and George Santos — prominent Trump loyalists who have openly voted for and endorsed the former president.

“I stood by Trump from the moment he came down the escalator,” Santos said on Twitter. “I voted for him in the primary and twice for president in the general elections. Today I showed up, because that’s what real supporters do, they show up for your best and your worse days.”

Santos and Greene reportedly made quick exits after briefly appearing at the rally. Santos blamed the media for making it “unbearable” for him to stay. He was approached by “Daily Show” correspondent Jordan Klepper, who, in a video segment, jokingly said, “If anybody can get Donald Trump off today, it’s America’s lead defense attorney, George Santos.”

As Santos was swarmed by reporters, Klepper poked fun at the New York fabulist by asking him about his “volleyball career” and if Santos could talk about his “law degrees.”

The New York Young Republicans Club, a city-based organization for those ages 18 to 40, is known for its staunch support of Trump. It made national news when it held a gala in December 2020, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, before vaccines were widely available, at which masks and social distancing were not encouraged.

Santos was an honoree at the organization’s December 2022 gala, at which its president, Gavin Wax, told other Republicans and white nationalists in the room to brace for “total war” on the political left. Vish Burra, Santos’ director of operations, is the club’s vice president.

On Twitter, Santos made a Politico photo of him at the rally, surrounded by reporters and photographers, his account banner image. “Trump 2024” is also listed in his Twitter bio. He previously tweeted that he believed that every Republican in Nassau County should be calling on the Nassau GOP to “stop interfering in the presidential primary.”

Santos currently faces federal investigations by the House Ethics Committee, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, and the Nassau County district attorney.

“Weaponizing the justice system to target a political rival is a clear danger to our country and democracy,” Santos said on Twitter, before the rally. “If they can do this to President Trump, imagine what they will do to us.”