The 23 members of the New York grand jury that has decided in the case of the payments made by the former US president, Donald Trump, to the pornographic actress Stormy Daniels – and possibly also to the erotic model Karen McDougal – could have become involuntarily , also, in the judges of the electoral campaign of 2024.
The race for the White House has been blown up by the grand jury’s decision to indict Trump. In the absence of the president turning himself in – which could happen on Tuesday – and the charges being made public – which could also take place that same day, although that is not certain – there is one thing that is clear in the field of Political reality: Donald Trump has further strengthened his leadership in the Republican Party.
This is recognized by sources close to his rivals, starting with his only compelling rival in the Republican candidacy for 2024, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Since December, Trump’s lead over DeSantis in the polls has only grown. The announcement by the president that he was going to be “arrested” two weeks ago triggered that difference. And, now, the fact that Trump is going to be “signed” can increase it even more, which according to the latest polls was already 14 points.
The reason is simple: Trump’s impeachment has unleashed a wave of sympathy for him among the Republican base, which already gave him considerable support. As a consequence, and in order not to commit electoral suicide, Trump’s rivals in the race for the White House, such as DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence, have already been quick to express their rejection of the accusation. The 23 members of the Manhattan grand jury – or, at least, sixteen of them, which is the minimum required when voting on an indictment – have adhered to the strictest legality but have injected an extra dose of populism into a campaign that already it oozed demagogy.
For DeSantis, the problem is twofold. For one thing, he only has five weeks left to announce that he’s running. That’s because state law prohibits a state elected office – such as governor – from running for federal office – such as president – without resigning from office. And DeSantis doesn’t want to leave the position he already has. That, in the first place, is a sign of weakness, because it indicates that the candidate is not willing to “burn the ships” for the White House, which in turn suggests that it is not clear that he is going to win the nomination or the elections. generals, so he wants, as ‘Plan B’, to maintain his current position.
So DeSantis has to ask the Florida Congress to strike down that rule. That is not a problem; the problem is that the Florida Congress concludes its period of sessions on May 5th. In other words, DeSantis has five weeks to request that he be exempted from the obligation to resign as governor to run for president.
And, with what he has armed himself with, many Trump supporters are likely to see such a move as a betrayal of the former president, who saved DeSantis’s political career in 2020. Running for office – or taking the steps necessary to run for office office – when one’s only compelling rival is suffering what voters perceive as political persecution is not the best letter of introduction to an angry electorate looking for culprits for what it considers a ‘manhunt’ -in In this case, Trump – by the political and institutional class.
As a person close to Trump, who worked with him in government and prefers to remain anonymous, says, “DeSantis has the ideas, but Trump has the personality.” And, in an informative environment dominated by a trial with sex, ‘porn’, accusations of corruption, fraud and politicization, personality, coups, and image is what counts. DeSantis’s ideas, his “war” with the multinational Disney, his attacks on the “woke” culture and his control of the Florida education system do not have much to do in the court of public opinion against a series of headlines with a porn star, 1998 Playmate of the Year, and a former president.
The indictment also breaks DeSantis’ strategy. To date, Trump’s biggest advantage in these elections is that they may be a repeat of those of 2016. On the one hand, he, with 40% of the vote. On the other, he half a dozen-at least-of Republican candidates, disputing the other 60%. Thus, Trump wins for sure, even if he takes time, just like eight years ago.
To prevent that, DeSantis was counting on former New Jersey governor and former 2016 White House candidate Chris Christie launching his own run for president. Christie has no chance of winning but, by the reckoning of DeSantis’ advisers, he is a political kamikaze who is willing to go straight for Trump, with whom he has had a relationship that has oscillated between love and hate, at times. even simultaneously. The former governor of New Jersey, thus, could distract Trump, and even fight with him over some of his voters, while the methodical, boring and highly effective DeSantis would build his electoral base across the country. But again, with the legal process open, any attack by Christie on Trump will have zero impact, and will kill any chance of getting a single vote at the ex-president’s expense.
So Trump has, for now at least, the path to the Republican nomination much more open, at least within the framework set by an unprecedented situation. Trump, who did not win the popular vote in either of the two elections that he ran, could achieve his political relaunch, perhaps, from another vote, this time by a Manhattan grand jury, which he did not win either.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
