As some Republicans try to distance themselves from President Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion taxpayer-funded “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” others are doubling down and defending Trump and his Justice Department’s astonishing move to take Americans’ hard-earned money and redistribute it to Trump allies. Florida Republican congressman and leading gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds practically did back flips during a recent interview with CNN’s Pamela Brown, trying to justify the unprecedented fund billed as a means of giving reparations to any American wrongly persecuted by the government. U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) talks to CNN’s Pamela Brown. (Photos: YouTube screenshot/Travis Gettys) Donalds got more and more worked up as Brown held his feet to the fire over supporting such a fund when gas prices are over $5 a gallon in many places, and Americans are struggling with a growing affordability crisis. Brown, in an interview on Thursday, May 21, asked Donalds where he stood on paying convicted Jan. 6 rioters for their legal bills and pain and suffering, including those who assaulted police officers, after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche refused to rule it out. ‘Heartless Pig’: Trump Stands In Front of Cameras and Casually Brags About Dead Troops Like He’s Reading a Golf Score, Then Critics Unearth the Furious Rants He Desperately Wanted Buried  Donalds pulled a page out of Trump’s playbook first, blaming former President Joe Biden’s DOJ and amazingly trying to make the case that some of the rioters were “overcharged.” Then he tried to spin it as a fund for all Americans. “[T]hat fund, as I understand it, is open to anybody, Republican or Democrat, independent, no matter what your political viewpoints are,” Donalds insisted. “If you were subject to a weaponized prosecution by the federal government, and that fund is available in order to make the necessary payments, quite frankly, for pain, suffering, and mental anguish with your government choosing to persecute you for political purposes,” he added. But the prosecutions of Jan. 6 rioters were not political. A mob of thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, hunting for lawmakers, destroying government property, and assaulting police officers. They broke the law and were held accountable. Donalds insisted the list of those persecuted by former administrations for political reasons is extensive, but Brown wouldn’t let him sidestep the question. “Yeah, but as you know, people point out that this is primarily going to benefit Trump allies,” Brown said, becoming visibly frustrated with Donalds playing coy. “And to be clear, Congressman, yes or no, should individuals convicted of violence against law enforcement, law enforcement that continues to protect you on a daily basis as a member of Congress, be eligible for compensation from the federal government? Yes or no on that?” Brown clearly asked. ‘How Dare You!’: JD Vance Grew Visibly Rattled When Reporter Cornered Him Over Trump’s Suspicious Activity, Then the Room Watched Him Spiral Into a Whiny Tirade As the tension between the two became more palpable, an angry Donalds still danced around the question, blaming Biden, before finally agreeing with Trump’s objectives for the fund, which include reimbursing rioters. “So, under those circumstances, then yes, as a fund like this should be utilized,” he agreed. “So, you’re not ruling this out either, that those convicted of attacking police officers could be compensated. You’re not ruling out that that could, that should be a possibility?” Brown persisted. A furious Donalds accused Brown of playing politics, interrupted her, and talked over her. “What you’re trying to do is make an assertion where it doesn’t even exist today, and that’s what you’re doing. So, don’t come in with a leading question trying to make an assertion that doesn’t exist, because you’re trying to make it a political question,” he angrily declared, trying to shame her and rambling on about the need for the slush fund. But she wouldn’t back down. “All right, and I wanted to give you a chance to give your perspective here, but just to be clear, this is not anything I’m doing. I am a vehicle for what people in your own party, the concerns that they’re expressing. You have some Republicans on the Senate side, and also you have on the House side concerns coming from them about who could receive this money, including the January 6 rioters,” Brown countered. “Is it a fiscally responsible decision for the Trump administration to launch this $1.8 billion fund when Americans, and Floridians in particular, are struggling with high gas prices?” A furious Donalds lashed out, accusing Brown of “conflating issues.” Brown quickly interrupted, denying the accusation, repeating that she was asking questions on behalf of voters, but Donalds doubled down again, “Yes you are,” he scornfully declared before launching into a diatribe on why Trump is not at fault for high gas prices even though he launched an unapproved war on Iran without any apparent strategy, objectives or endgame and without considering the Islamic Republic would shut down the critical Strait of Hormuz, a waterway where a third of the world’s energy supplies pass through daily or did before Trump’s war. Byron Donalds defends Trump's J6 taxpayer-funded slush fund: "We can talk about what happened with Michael Flynn. He was persecuted by this government under the phony Russia collusion scandal which we all know now was fake and phony. What about him? What about the anguish on his… pic.twitter.com/zpczpYXXrN— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 21, 2026 Social media lit up over Donalds’ claims. “What a Uncle Tom! @GenFlynn was a trader! Seen with Putin in person and making calls at the pedophiles inauguration to Russian operatives and of course he gets Pardoned,” an X user pointed out. Donalds used Michael Flynn, who was briefly Trump’s national security adviser during his first term, as an example of someone who could apply and receive reimbursement from Trump’s slush fund, even though Flynn pleaded guilty to the charges. He was eventually pardoned by Trump anyway. Flynn was prosecuted by Trump’s own Department of Justice. Raw Story readers weighed in, too. “….hmmm… Byron Daniels, didn’t he USED TO BE a black man ? Nixon – ‘let me be perfectly clear…’” Another didn’t hold back, “Donalds is too high on GOP to realize he’s a blithering idiot.” This angry reader put it this way, “It is really too bad that far too many Americans have attention spans akin to those of gnats. In one breath, Donalds insists that most of the January 6 insurrectionists were ‘over charged,’ and in the next that Michael Flynn was wrongly prosecuted. Both statements were lies. … And Donalds will continue to lie and continue to whine about his own victimhood-by-proxy as he takes on his highly subjective cause of J6er rights…. Because, after all, everyone who tries to overthrow the federal government ought to be monetarily compensated by the federal government for their effort…” Trump and his sons and the Trump Organization had filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service in January over the illegal leak of Trump’s tax returns in 2018, but Trump dropped the suit as it became clear he would probably lose the case and made a deal with his own appointees in the Justice Department for the massive slush fund. ‘Blithering Idiot!’: Byron Donalds Thought He Could Out-Slick CNN Host on Live TV, Then She Asked One Yes-Or-No Question About Trump and Watched Him Explode Into a Six-Minute Spiral ...read more read less