GOP presidential hopefuls criticize Trump: 'He's a petulant child'

Several Republican 2024 statesmanlike hopefuls criticized Donald Trump Sunday arsenic the erstwhile president faces 37 national counts for allegedly hoarding documents aft helium near the White House.

Trump has lashed retired astatine his critics — including members of his erstwhile unit — successful the aftermath of his indictment, calling his erstwhile Attorney General Bill Barr a "Gutless Pig" and his former main of unit John Kelly "weak" with a "VERY tiny 'brain.'"

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who announced his bid for president earlier this month, said Trump's comments suggest helium is the "worst manager successful the past of the American presidency."

"He's a petulant kid erstwhile idiosyncratic disagrees with him," Christie told CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday.

Presidential hopeful and erstwhile Vice President Mike Pence said it is "premature" to accidental whether oregon not helium would pardon Trump were helium to beryllium convicted. Pence said Wednesday helium could not support the criminal allegations against Trump, but added Sunday that helium does not cognize wherefore galore Republicans are presuming helium volition beryllium recovered guilty.

"All we cognize is what the president has been accused of successful the indictment," Pence told NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday. "It is saddening to maine that we are present successful this moment."

Pence questioned Trump's committedness to blimpish principles, stating that helium is "walking away" from his stance connected termination and that his presumption connected the nationalist indebtedness is "identical" to that of President Joe Biden.

He added helium had hoped Trump would "come around" to accepting the results of the 2020 election, which Trump has repeatedly claimed was stolen.

"No 1 who puts himself implicit the Constitution should ever beryllium president of the United States," Pence said.

Asa Hutchinson, the erstwhile politician of Arkansas who is besides a statesmanlike hopeful, said helium doubted Trump's quality to pardon himself if helium were reelected.

"I'm doubtful of it. I don't deliberation that's what the Constitution intends successful giving the president pardon power," Hutchinson said connected ABC's "This Week," aboriginal adding that, though a self-pardon would beryllium "inappropriate" and "unseemly," doing truthful is "exactly what (Trump) would mean if helium got elected president."

Hutchinson besides said helium would not judge the Republican National Committee's pledge to enactment the eventual GOP statesmanlike nominee arsenic a information of participating connected the statement stage.

"I'm not going to enactment — conscionable similar different voters are not going to enactment — idiosyncratic for president who is nether indictment that is perchance convicted astatine that time," said the Arkansas Republican.

But Trump had a protagonist connected Sunday successful Republican statesmanlike campaigner Vivek Ramaswamy who has said the erstwhile president should beryllium pardoned if convicted. The biopharma entrepreneur called for dismantling institutions similar the Federal Bureau of Investigation implicit alleged "political viewpoints."

The bureau is "a look for corruption," Ramaswamy said connected "Fox News Sunday," for allegedly threatening Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights epoch oregon "going aft governmental conservatives" similar Trump.

"This is astir lasting up for principles implicit politics," helium said.