Washington — The indictments against former U.S. President Donald Trump, issued by a grand jury in New York state on Thursday, are no obstacle to his ongoing campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
Trump hopes to use his legal dilemma and criminal charges against him to his political advantage, portraying himself as oppressed, targeted and valiantly fighting against a corrupt political elite.
New Trumpian Rules
Trump came before running in the 2016 elections, tweeting from outside the flock of American traditional politics with its established traditions and customs, and succeeded in achieving a landslide victory over the two most powerful and influential political families in recent decades, the Bush family, which was represented in the Republican primary at the time by candidate Jeb Bush, and the Clinton family, represented by Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the presidential election.
Observers believe that Trump has not yet uttered the word "sorry" or "I did not mean that," and yet many Americans have accepted to overlook his failures and his moral and ethical behavior.
On the other hand, voters are not inclined to practice the political death penalty if the charges involve some form of corruption, there is a widespread belief that "they all do."
Trump's case is an exception to what happens in the corridors of American politics, as candidates for political office usually withdraw if they are indicted or charged, so the American voter has an almost historic opportunity to pursue a former president and a candidate for the next election, and at the same time be criminally prosecuted.
Trump made clear in a statement that he would make the trial part of his campaign, calling it a Democratic attempt to deny him another presidential term.
"Democrats did the unthinkable by charging a completely innocent person, in an act of blatant interference in the election," he said.
The New York state attorney's charges add to a list of investigations Trump sees as contrived, starting with allegations of Russian collusion in the 2016 election, his two failed impeachment attempts in Congress, and the FBI's break-in into his home to search him and investigate his keeping of classified documents at a Mar-a-Lago resort.
Trump Exception
Trump's criminal charges would bring down any traditional candidate and would alienate the support of millions of voters, especially as the 2024 campaign began.
But the opposite has happened with Trump, where financial donations to his campaign have increased, while widening the gap with his closest rivals interested in running for the Republican ticket.
In addition, the Republican leadership in the Senate and House of Representatives chose not to criticize Trump, did not ask him to give up his candidacy in the upcoming presidential elections, and none of Trump's rival or potential candidates dared to use the opportunity to bring criminal charges against him, to attack him or demand that he exit the race.
Former US Vice President Mike Pence told CNN that formally indicting Trump was a blow to American democracy, adding that millions of Americans would see the case as nothing but "political persecution."
Ron DeSantis, Trump's current top rival, criticized the accusations, calling them "contrary to American values."
At the same time, the Trump campaign raised more than $4 million in the first 24 hours after he was indicted.
Strong progress
Trump still maintains a strong lead in a Yahoo poll conducted in collaboration with NewsGov, as the poll, conducted after the announcement of his indictment by a grand jury in Manhattan, New York, showed him a significant lead over his current and other potential Republican rivals to run in the 2024 election.
Trump was 31 points ahead of his closest potential Republican rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, with 52 percent of the vote, DeSantis in second place (21 percent), former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley (5 percent) and former Vice President Mike Pence (3 percent).
Writer Jeff Greenfield believes that given Trump's "seven souls" history, it would come as no surprise to see himself moving from swearing to tell the truth in the courtroom before a judge and jury, to swearing at the execution of the Constitution at his inauguration in front of the Capitol as the new president of the United States.