“The Democrats have just offered the nomination to Donald Trump. This on-the-spot analysis by a conservative site columnist RedState, Thursday, after the indictment of Donald Trump in New York, is taken up everywhere in the Republican spheres. Some, like a presenter from the Newsmax channel, go even further, assuring that Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg, elected as a Democrat in 2021, “ridiculously ridicules our republic but could have ensured Trump’s victory” in the presidential election. Not so fast, warns Barrett Mars, a Republican strategist from Arizona. “There are still about nine months until the first vote in the Republican primary, that’s an eternity in politics. »
Does this indictment help Trump for the primary?
Among his potential adversaries, none dared to attack Donald Trump on Thursday, preferring to shoot the prosecutor. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley – one of the few to come out – criticized “political lawsuits”. Mike Pence said he was “outraged” and Mike Pompeo judged that Alvin Bragg, by indicting an ex-president for the first time in history, “undermined America’s confidence in our judicial system”. Even Ron DeSantis, who has yet to take the plunge but is seen as Donald Trump’s most dangerous rival, has closed ranks, railing against an ‘un-American’ decision by a ‘George Soros-backed prosecutor’ . The billionaire, nemesis of the conservatives, is one of the main financial backers of the political group Color of Change, which had invested 500,000 dollars in the campaign of Bragg, according to CNN.
“We have a candidate who paid 130,000 dollars to buy the silence of an actress of porn movies to hide that he had had a sexual relationship (alleged) with her. Are these the values of the Republican Party? They (rivals) of Trump refuse to attack him on the sordid details of the affair, and it is a little disconcerting”, judge Barrett Marson. “How do they hope to make him waver? »
Their calculation is that attacking Donald Trump is too risky for now. After his air hole during the midterms, with a red wave that made pschitt, he returned to his highest, with 8 Republicans out of 10 who have a favorable opinion of him, and as many who consider that the judicial investigations are a “witch hunt,” according to a poll for PBS conducted last week. In the primary battle, Trump is far ahead, with 50% of the voting intentions against only 24% for Ron DeSantis, according to the latest Harris study.
In the immediate future, his indictment “helps Trump and penalizes his rivals who have decided to support him”, judge Barrett Marson. Which reminds us, however, that the situation could change once the nature of the charges is revealed next Tuesday, or in the event of other indictments in the ongoing investigations into the assault on the Capitol, the 2020 election and its management of classified documents.
Can lawsuits boost Trump for president?
For the past two weeks, Donald Trump has sent dozens of emails to his supporters to raise funds, saying “they want to silence you, you must fight back”. In 24 hours, he collected 4 million dollars, and will not fail to sell t-shirts with the photo which will be taken in the office of the prosecutor this Tuesday.
His hope for the presidential election is that a majority of Americans will end up finding that the multiple investigations aimed at him amount to judicial harassment. This is far from being the case for the moment. According to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday, 57% of Americans believe criminal charges should disqualify him. In detail, it is the position of 88% of Democratic voters, which is not a surprise, but above all of 55% of independents and even 23% of Republicans.
“For the presidential election, it handicaps him,” said Barrett Marson. “Paying a porn actress to hide an affair is not going to make Trump more popular with independents and moderate Republicans.” Without this crucial electorate, winning in the half-dozen swing states where the election is being played out will be very complicated.