Over the past few decades, the GOP has claimed to be the party of law and order.
As a result of the federal prosecutors’ indictment of former President Donald Trump for mishandling classified documents, nearly all of his Republican opponents for the White House nomination are accusing the FBI of political bias, with some calling for its dissolution.
Given the party’s long history of being tough on crime and staunch defenders of federal and local cops, the spectacle of so many Republican presidential candidates attacking the country’s top law enforcement agency and siding with Trump – the front-runner – has left many observers puzzled.
Voters support Trump
As opinion polls show most Republicans believe Trump is unfairly targeted, analysts say this extraordinary reversal reveals the tension between Republican support for law enforcement and Trump’s rivals’ political calculations.
Most of the Republican field is attacked by the FBI as a result of Trump’s political attacks against the agency over the past few years. In the past, Trump has accused the agency and the U.S. Department of Justice of targeting him.
“Trump’s attacks on the FBI are so pervasive amongst Republican primary voters that his rivals can’t say something different to Trump on that,” said Kyle Kondik, a non-partisan analyst at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
