How indictment may affect Donald Trump’s future as conservatives say it could make his base 'more solid'
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY: Donald Trump got indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on Thursday, March 30, over a hush money payment of $130K to porn star Stormy Daniels, who alleged sexual encounters with the former president, just before the 2016 election. And this has made Trump, who is reportedly facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud, the first president in US history to be charged with a crime. Now the question that arises is - Whether Trump is going to remain one of the candidates for the presidency in 2024? And how this indictment could affect his political future?
However, some have claimed that this indictment would only aid Trump’s effort to make his position back in the White House in 2024. Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic strategist in New York City, said, as stated by The Guardian, “With the people that love him most, it means nothing. With the rebels who are against the government on the right, it won’t matter."
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Sheinkopf continued by saying, "With his core constituency it won’t matter at all. They will see this as an attack on their values because Trump represents their values.” And added, “He will use this … to make the case that these people in Manhattan, whoever ‘these people’ are, are interfering with his ability to ‘make America great again’ and to ‘take the country back.'”
Sheinkopf also said the indictment could energize Trump supporters and “position [Trump] beyond Ron DeSantis temporarily”. He said, "The majority of Republican voters are certainly rational, and they won’t want somebody who’s under indictment in the Oval office. The president, or the candidate, has got to be fully occupied with either being the candidate or the president – and he can't be going to court dates in the middle of all that.”
'It’ll make his base even more solid'
While GOP strategist Katon Dawson, a former South Carolina Republican Party chairman who is supporting Nikki Haley, said, "It’ll make his base even more solid because it’ll show the message that Donald Trump’s been giving them is true. It’s fixed, it’s hooked up, it’s crooked,” reports Fortune. US Senator Lindsey Graham expressed, “The prosecutor in New York has done more to help Donald Trump get elected president than any single person in America today."
'An excuse to play the victim'
Talking more about it, Republican pollster Jim McLaughlin, who has conducted surveys for Trump, explained, “It’s not going to convince anybody who already does not like President Trump, but I think there’s a pretty decent segment of voters in the middle who are like, ‘Enough’s enough, leave the guy alone.' I don’t think the rank-and-file Republican primary voter trusts any of this stuff."
“I don’t think Donald Trump has any forward-looking vision for the country. He never has. It would absolutely give him an excuse to play the victim," said Republican strategist Rick Tyler, who worked on Texas Senator Ted Cruz’s 2016 presidential campaign.
As per the result of a Monmouth poll, in February, Trump had 33 percent of support among Republicans. However, his criminal complaints came into the picture, the poll on March 22 showed Trump with 41 percent support.
Can indicted president govern from jail?
Fortune states, "A presidential candidate could be indicted, prosecuted and convicted by either state or federal authorities. Indictment for a state crime may seem less significant than federal charges brought by the Department of Justice." The outlet added, "the spectacle of a criminal trial in state or federal court would have a dramatic effect on a presidential campaign and on the credibility of a president, if elected."
Details about Trump's indictment
Following the indictment, Trump released a statement and said, as per CNN, it was “Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history.” The 76-year-old said, "I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden. The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it. So our Movement, and our Party – united and strong – will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these Crooked Democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" Trump, who lives in Florida and is expected to travel to New York City for his formal arrest and first hearing in court, will surrender next week, on April 4.
What other criminal investigation is Trump facing?
The Department of Justice is also investigating his incitement of the January 6 attack on Congress. He is also under investigation in Georgia for alleged attempted election inference. In addition to that, he is facing a defamation trial for an allegation of rape made by the writer E Jean Carroll.
