A few months before the elections, the leading oppositionist was attacked by “mask shows”.

The security forces ransacked his house in search of some "secret documents".

As a result, boxes were taken out of the house (which, according to the lawyers, they didn’t even look at), and the safe was broken into, which turned out to be empty.

Neither the security forces nor their press service responded to questions about the results of the search.

If this scenario were realized in Russia, then human rights activists (both domestic and professional, from among the employees of Western NGOs) would have reared up.

Activists would talk about the inhuman regime, and the leaders of Western states about the possible non-recognition of the elections and even about the imposition of sanctions.

But no, these events did not take place in Russia, but in the citadel of Western democracy - the United States.

Three months before the midterm congressional elections (which could end in a real tragedy for the Democratic Party, which risks losing control of both houses of parliament), the FBI raided the residence of the most popular Republican today, Donald Trump.

Agents were allegedly looking for documents that Trump, who held the presidency from January 2017 to January 2021, allegedly took out of the White House.

As a result, human rights activists are silent.

The leaders of the countries are silent.

And only Trump himself and most of the Republicans are outraged, who saw in this search an elementary attempt by the Democrats to use the FBI to discredit Trump, and through him, the entire Republican Party.

There is certainly some logic in these statements.

Preliminary polls show that if the Democrats still have some chance to compete for the Senate (where the parties are still expected to have an approximately equal number of mandates with eight undecided seats), then the House of Representatives, which will be re-elected in full, goes to the Republicans.

They already have a clear lead in 222 constituencies, the Democrats can take 181, and there is no clear leader in 32 constituencies yet.

This - coupled with control of most of the governor's corps, as well as the current control of the Supreme Court (where the majority of judges are conservatives) - will make President Biden a lame duck with two years before the end of his presidential term.

Democrats cannot gain a rating due to some constructive actions.

The economy (the most important topic in any American election) is in a difficult position due to record inflation.

Rising food and fuel prices hit the pockets of every American, and above all, poor people of color who are the electorate of the Democratic Party.

There is also sadness in foreign policy: the sanctions war against Russia did not bring victory, but the spending of tens of billions of dollars by American taxpayers on various assistance to the Ukrainian regime.

A regime that more and more media outlets are writing about as corrupt and violating human rights.

In this situation, the only thing left for the Democratic Party is to try to discredit the Republicans.

And so it was decided to strike at what seemed to be its weakest link - the eccentric Donald Trump, who in the eyes of many Americans is a symbol and almost the leader of the party.

Actually, he is such in the polls.

Yes, Trump's rating is low.

About 42% of Americans trust him, 53.9% do not trust him, the total rating (or rather, anti-rating) is -11.9%.

However, the Democrats' problem is that Biden's performance is even worse.

They account for -15.3%.

Vice President Kamala Harris has -17%, and the third person in the state, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, has -23.5%.

So against their background, Donald Trump is the most popular.

And it is already converting this popularity into influence: candidates who are supported by the former president quite often win party primaries against opponents who are supported by other influential forces in the party.

Accordingly, a blow to Trump will also be a blow to his appointees (who will have to face the Democrats in the general election).

And the discrediting scheme is elementary: the FBI and the Democrats are trying to make Donald Trump not just an irresponsible person, but also a leader who despises the law.

It is clear that Trump himself did not remain silent in this situation.

“I opposed the bureaucracy of the United States, I returned power to the people ... The establishment hates all this.

And now, when they look at the fact that the candidates I supported are winning tremendous victories, look at my dominance in the polls, they again want to stop me and the Republican Party.

The lawless political persecution and witch hunt must be exposed and stopped,” the former US president said.

And his fellow party members supported him.

Conservative journalists call the FBI raid "an unprecedented act of lawlessness on the part of the state," by which "the Democrats are pulling us towards the third world."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a young hope for the Republicans in the 2024 presidential election (and, based on the current alignment, Trump's main rival in the Republican primaries) has already supported the former president.

According to him, the raid was “an attempt to use federal structures as a weapon against opponents of the current Regime (precisely the “regime” and precisely with a capital letter. - 

G.M.

), while around all sorts of Biden Hunters everyone is wearing gloves,” the governor writes .

And compares the situation with a banana republic.

As a result, the first round of this confrontation remained with Trump.

"Mask Shows" made him a victim and rallied the Republican Party around the personality of the ex-president.

And if now the FBI does not show the public some really top-secret documents that it found in Trump's estate, then the entire party will remain behind the leader of the Republicans.

The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editors.