Hardly a day goes by at the moment without good news for former president Donald Trump.
It almost seems within reach: Commander-in-Chief No. 45 could become No. 47 in the 2024 elections. It is a strong comeback for the populist Republican. Few saw it coming to this extent.
And it is also true that it is the Trump haters’ scene that often makes him so strong.
Flashback: After the ‘January 6’ riots, the Trump story seemed to be over, the ‘coup leader’ who refused to concede election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden appeared finished. His party could have made it official in the second impeachment proceedings, a conviction would have meant a permanent political ban. But they shied away…
Then the fall of 2022: Trump had blown the Midterm congressional elections for the Republicans after personally selecting a number of losing candidates. When he announced his re-candidacy in his Mar-a-Lago estate, he was largely written off. He seemed worn out, sounding the old ‘Make America Great Again’ lyre. A man of yesterday. And with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who had just been re-elected in a landslide, a younger heir seemed to be ready.
But many seemed to have forgotten Trump’s loyal supporters. The MAGA world remained fiercely loyal to him, judging any criticism of Trump as a betrayal, and ultimately enabling the current winning streak at the start of the Republican primaries. For his opponents, it would be an almost impossible balancing act: anyone who criticized Trump would go to purgatory with his supporters. Imitators such as Vivek Ramaswamy, on the other hand, could not explain why party supporters should not vote for the ‘original’ – Trump, after all.
Soon only Nikki Haley remained as an opponent. But she, as the ‘New York Post’ wrote pointedly, is apparently running ‘for a party that no longer exists…’
Also, the wave of criminal indictments seems to be backfiring for Trump opponents: four criminal cases were brought against the ex-president by the judiciary, totaling 91 felony counts. Maximum sentence: 700 years. It looked as if he would end up in prison rather than the Oval Office.
But Trump’s tactics of delay and obfuscation seem to be working here too. The Supreme Court recently dealt the prosecutor, special investigator Jack Smith, a setback in the most important case (January 6): Trump’s possible immunity as president is to be judged first. The trial is now not to be expected any time soon, maybe even after the elections, if at all.
The start of the second federal trial in the secret files scandal is also shaky. Should Trump become president again, he could have both proceedings dropped. In the Georgia case (election manipulation), the DA Fani Willis and not Trump is in the news currently – because of a sex affair with one of her special investigators. The whole trial could collapse. So far Trump will only have to face the court in New York, beginning on March 25. But the charges after paying hush money to ex-mistress Stormy Daniels are considered the weakest case of the four. He could be acquitted.
In retrospect, Trump was able to portray himself as a victim of Biden’s ‘political justice’ during his appearances at the numerous arraignments last year (once even with a ‘mug shot’). At the time, his poll ratings rose again, and the base rallied behind him.
The situation is similar now with the practically hopeless attempt to exclude Trump from the elections as an ‘insurgent’, as Democratic strongholds such as Colorado, Maine and Illinois had tried to do. The Supreme Court just shot that down with a 9:0 ruling. Again: Good for Trump, who celebrated a new winning moment.
In all the anti-Trump mania, the Democrats had also overlooked the fact that they were sending a doddering old man into the race, 81-year-old Biden.
All of this brought about the latest turnaround. Now it’s all about Trump’s advantage.
