Trump seeks to turn legal woes into political gold
Ex-president can use court appearance to galvanise the support of voters
Donald Trump has proven to be a master of turning legal lemons into political lemonade – and he is on track to do the same thing when he finally goes on trial this week in the Manhattan case stemming from hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels and others.
He is certain to use the trial as a platform to promote his nowfamiliar claims that he is the real victim of “deep state” Democrats and biased prosecutors, political pundits say.
“He will try to turn the trial from prosecution to persecution, as we’ve seen in the past,” said Basil Smikle, a Hunter College professor and Democratic strategist. “In his view, it could convince his supporters that he’s being treated unfairly.”
Republican strategists say it is no secret how Trump plans to deal with the potential political pitfalls of the trial. “He’ll trash the judicial system as he’s been doing for years, all while declaring a victim and martyr,” said Doug Heye, a Republican strategist.
For most politicians, facing felony charges in a courtroom – let alone sordid allegations of extramarital sex, lies and an election-altering cover-up – would be the kiss of death.
But pundits say Trump could succeed at least in galvanising Republican voters, who have already picked him as their presumptive nominee to take on President Joe Biden in November.
Scott Jennings, a former top aide to Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, said the hush money case was particularly well suited for Trump to use as a tool to forging an even stronger bond with his supporters.
“They view all of this, especially the New York cases, as sham political attacks masquerading as legitimate legal action,” Jennings said. “It will spike anger and engagement among the base.”
One thing seems certain: Trump will enter the history books when he walks into a lower Manhattan courtroom and becomes the first former US president to go on criminal trial.
For the average voter on either side of the political divide, however, the shock of seeing Trump at the defence table in a courtroom has become stunningly old hat.
He has already been indicted in four separate criminal cases involving 88 charges in two states and in Washington. In all those cases, Trump has followed a familiar blueprint. He fiercely attacks the judge, the prosecutors and anyone else involved in the case while loudly telling his loyal followers that he is being targeted for standing up for them.
Pundits say to expect more of the same at his trial, where the stakes are potentially much higher for him because he could be imprisoned if convicted.
For virtually any other candidate, it would be a big problem to be stuck in a courtroom for weeks while his opponent is free to jet across the country holding campaign rallies.
That is not necessarily so for Trump, who can use the media to grab seemingly limitless attention and take advantage of his own communications channels to get his message out regardless of where he is or what he is doing.
One of the biggest downside for the candidate is that he has had to divert millions in campaign funds to legal fees.
Smikle said Trump would attempt to use the prospect of a prison sentence to rally support from a wider swathe of voters.
“He will seek to convince working-class white voters and even Black men that the system is rigged against him the way it’s rigged against them,” Smikle said.
But some analysts note that the very nature of a criminal trial puts Trump on the defensive and makes him appear powerless.
“Trump wants to be talking about the issues that he wants to be talking about, like immigrants and inflation,” said Republican strategist Alex Conant. “Those are issues independent voters care about and they are the ones who are going to decide the election.”
New York prosecutors accuse Trump of falsifying business records to cover up payments to Daniels, Playboy model Karen McDougal and a doorman at Trump Tower to hide potentially damaging information during the 2016 election.
One thing analysts on both sides concede: there is no telling how the public may react to a conviction or prison sentence. Will Trump be able to spin that as just another Democratic witch hunt?
Or will the prospect of voting for a convicted felon turn away many Republicans who would normally vote for their party’s candidate no matter what?
“I’m sceptical that anything will change people’s opinions about Donald Trump,” Conant said. “People have made up their minds.”
He will try to turn the trial from prosecution to persecution, as in the past BASIL SMIKLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST