A felony conviction just months ahead of a presidential race in the United States is unheard of. Yet Donald J. Trump has become the first former president and the first GOP candidate to be convicted by a New York jury on all 34 counts in his criminal case of hush-money.
Trump himself called the verdict a ‘disgrace’, although in reality he is a disgrace to his party, his followers and to American democracy. If Trump survives the consequences, both legal and political of this outcome, then the moral standard of future elections will be lowered well below that of Russia, while the country’s foreign policy will be ridiculed no matter how high its moral ground may be.
Under this scenario, future elections will render the GOP ineffective when attacking the candidate of the other party since any sense of morality has been demolished under Trump.
Abraham Lincoln, a beacon of political wisdom and a historic source of pride for the GOP, would look like someone from another planet.
“I’m a very innocent man. And it’s OK, I’m fighting for our country. We’ll fight till the end and we’ll win. Because our country’s gone to hell. The real verdict is going to be November 5 by the people. And they know what happened here, and everybody knows what happened here,” Trump said.
The defeated Trump is now playing his last card as he tries to convince his voter base that the whole thing was a set-up by those who oppose him in order to evoke anger and frustration.
The GOP leadership responded in a predictable way given Trump’s appeal and lack of a better candidate.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) called it “a shameful day in American history,” while Arizona GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake said it was an “egregious example of election interference and an outright mockery of the rule of law.”
But politicians or public figures who support Trump in such a way in light of future political gains, will also carry the stigma for getting the country in the club of the outcasts on the global stage.
US allies
US allies will likely distance themselves from a future Trump government and those who will stick around will bare the risk of being abandoned in a time of crisis. Already Trump declared that the war in Ukraine will end in 24 hours if he gets elected, suggesting that the US will no longer provide military support against Russia’s unprovoked and illegal invasion.
This policy will embolden China to pursue its ambitions of annexing Taiwan and become more aggressive elsewhere, forcing the European Union countries to abandon NATO, unless Trump leaves the alliance first.
From the Biden camp the campaign communications director Michael Tyler commented that “no one is above the law,” adding that “convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president.”
He argued that another Trump presidency “means chaos, ripping away Americans’ freedoms and fomenting political violence.” But the Democratic party did little to find a young, energetic and inspiring candidate like Barak Obama to confront Trump with a vision for a stronger and better America.
According to the WSJ, Trump is certain to appeal the case, and his sentencing is currently scheduled for July 11.
Two weeks before that, on June 27, Trump and Biden will hold their first debate, providing an opportunity for both to address voters who haven’t been paying close attention.
In mid-July, Trump will attend the GOP convention and by then will have chosen his running mate. He has resisted narrowing down a long list, but his aides plan to start pressing him now that the trial is over, according to people familiar with the process.
But a record of supporters continue to donate money to the Trump campaign even after the verdict indicating that Trump’s message that he’s being convicted for the people is galvanising many voters.
No matter how hard the Democrats will try to convince voters about Trump being a danger to the country, most have already made up their mind and nothing can convince them otherwise.
So far, polls show that time is running out for President Biden and democracy in America.
