The ex-president has racked up electoral defeats and his legal position is deteriorating by the day, but he remains the Republican favorite. For what ?
The Trump mystery will never end to defy explanation. In 2016 he broke all the rules of politics and won against all odds.
Today in New York Trump is officially indicted, he is on trial for several other offenses and he continues to break all the rules. However, nothing and no one seems able to stop his march toward the Republican nomination. What’s up ? At least three things.
The character doesn’t change
Donald Trump isn’t the first mendacious or corrupt politician to make it to the top of American politics, but what sets him apart is that he has absolutely no scruples or sense of honor.
The only president he can be compared to is Richard Nixon, but at least Nixon had the decency to walk away with his back to the wall.
Trump never regrets. It’s always the others’ fault. He has managed to project an image of strength in the eyes of his staunch followers, as his flight from responsibility reveals a complete weakness of character. To this day, he has not been able to take advantage of this image despite, but mainly because of, the allegations and allegations against him.
The electorate remains polarized
At the heart of the Republican message has long been the demonization of Democrats. In the last election, the vast majority of Republicans remained loyal to the party, regardless of the candidate.
Donald Trump has capitalized on this demonization by linking it to the grievances and resentments of those who feel threatened by cultural change or excluded from economic progress.
By capitalizing on these grievances and resentments and legitimizing the darker impulses of these constituents, Trump has managed to confuse partisan ties with loyalty to himself. The Republican Party has become a cult of his personality.
For many Republicans isolated in the right-wing media bubble, the lawsuits against Trump are interpreted as attacks on themselves. No wonder the hard-core Republican electorate retreats to the object of their worship when brought to justice, especially when represented by prosecutors, Democrats… black at that.
lack of spines
Donald Trump is also benefiting from the glaring lack of political courage on the part of his party’s elected officials, who are afraid to take a stand against the man who has already ended the political careers of several Republicans who have dared to criticize him.
While Republican presidential candidates have so far advocated the need for party renewal or timidly pointed to Trump’s electoral woes since 2018, no one has dared to condemn the patently illegal acts that have caused Trump’s legal woes.
Unless a candidate with backbone comes out of nowhere to confront him, and unless the justice system is in overdrive to convict him (it’s off to a bad start), we’re going to have to get used to the idea of a Trump presidential campaign im year 2024.
Can he win and become president again? That’s another question.
