There’s nothing like an external enemy to unite a disparate group. The Republicans have closed ranks in the purest Fuenteovejuna style around Donald Trump once it has been confirmed that the tycoon has become the first former president impeached in US history and is expected on Tuesday at the Manhattan courts in New York to be signed.
The presentation of charges on Thursday night, in the case that investigates the payment of 130,000 dollars (119,500 euros) to the porn actress Stormy Daniels, took almost everyone by surprise. Although Trump had anticipated a week ago that he could be arrested during this week, the announcement that the grand jury in charge of the case was going to adjourn until the end of the month had led many to assume that a decision would not come at least until then. . But once confirmed, Democrats and Republicans have reacted along his party line. The first, to congratulate themselves that “nobody is above the law.” The latter, with complaints that the case against the former president is baseless and only responds to political motives.
In both cases, behind the reactions there is a delicate calculation: the Democrats want to avoid adding fuel to the fire so as not to feed the aura of the victim of political persecution with which the former president and current presidential candidate wants to adorn himself. Asked about the case on Friday when he was leaving the White House for a tour of the Midwest, President Joe Biden dodged the answer with a laconic “no comment.” His spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre replied in a similar way: “We are not going to comment on an open court case.”
In the Republican caucus, the response was a unanimous barrage of criticism of the Manhattan prosecutor, Alvin Bragg -Democrat-. The voices of support came even from those who are not exactly supporters of the tycoon. Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is not speaking to his former running mate in the aftermath of the storming of the Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters on January 6, 2021, indicated in an interview with CNN television that he considered “The unprecedented imputation of a former president of the United States for a matter of electoral financing is a scandal.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, whom many consider Trump’s potential rival in the Republican primary and whom the former president nicknames “Ron DeSanturrón”, tweeted for his part that prosecutor Bragg “is forcing the law to attack a political opponent.” “It goes against American nature… Florida will not assist in an extradition request, given the questionable circumstances.” The politician made reference to the fact that Trump resides in Mar-a-Lago, his mansion and his golf club in the south of that State, so, in case of voluntary non-appearance, New York can claim the delivery to Florida.
Clearly, it’s not sympathy for the real estate mogul that’s driving Pence or DeSantis. But the party’s rank and file support the former White House occupant overwhelmingly, and no Republican politician wants to antagonize them when the 2024 presidential election campaign is about to go into full swing. Polls give him a sweeping 30-point lead over his immediate follower, DeSantis himself (who has yet to confirm whether he will run for president).
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In addition, the impeachment represents an excellent stimulus for the collection of electoral donations among Republican supporters. As early as Friday, the party began sending out emails portraying Trump as a political martyr and asking for financial contributions from his voters.
Trump himself, a firm believer in the principle that “it’s good that they talk about me, even if it’s bad”, has not hesitated to take advantage of this situation, which he calculates to benefit him. For a week now, when the former president heated up the social networks warning that the imputation was about to fall, his campaign had been sending messages to his supporters to ask for donations.
His daughter Ivanka broke her silence on the case on Friday by writing on social networks: “I love my father and I love my country. Today I feel pain for both of them. I appreciate the voices across the political spectrum expressing concern and support.”
But if in the short term Trump and the Republicans can make a profit from the impeachment, in the long term the picture is less clear. It is true that a candidate with pending charges is not required to leave the campaign. But the victory in November 2024 involves getting the vote of the independents and the undecided. Something that can be difficult for a defendant. And Trump faces multiple causes for electoral issues, classified documents in his possession or his role in the assault on the Capitol, among others. The indictment announced Thursday was the first, but it may well not be the last. Not the penultimate.
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