Republican New York congressional candidate Mazi Pilip won’t support former President Donald Trump in November if he’s convicted of a crime before Election Day, she revealed Tuesday.
Pilip, who is locked in a tight race with Democratic former Rep. Tom Suozzi in the special election contest to replace George Santos in Congress, made the comment during a PIX11 candidate forum ahead of next month’s election.
“Nobody is above the law,” the Ethiopia-born Nassau County legislator said.
“If he’s convicted of a crime, he cannot represent us.”
Trump, 77, is facing a total of 91 charges across four criminal cases — and up to 712 years and six months behind bars if convicted of all of them.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, arguing that the state and federal grand jury indictments leveled against him last year are part of “witch hunt” intended to keep him out of the Oval Office.
Pilip noted that Trump has not yet been convicted of a crime, and if that continues to be the case in November, she’ll support his candidacy.
“Unless we see that [a conviction], right now, if he is the candidate, I will support him,” the mother of seven said.
Pilip also touted Trump’s record in his first term, arguing that he was a “great president.”
“He was a great candidate, a great president. He did great things for America,” she said. “He improved our economy. He brought a lot of peace process in the Middle East. He was very strong on the international level.”
“I will work very hard with him if he’s going to be the president,” Pilip, a former paratrooper in the Israel Defense Forces, added.
Suozzi has the backing of 45% of registered voters in the Nassau County and eastern Queens-based Third District, while Pilip has 42% support, according to a recent Emerson College/PIX11 survey.
The special election will be held on Feb. 13, and early voting begins Feb. 3.
