Trump or Biden? Don’t bet on it
Dear Editor,
Jamaica, like the rest of the world, has its eyes fixed on the US presidential campaign. ‘Ex-president’ Donald Trump seems certain to be the Republican challenger, thanks largely to the incompetence of the Democratic Party leadership.
In January 2021 after the assault on the Capitol, and flying in the face of the clear language of the impeachment clause, they ridiculously chose to impeach and remove from office a president that the voters had already sent packing, instead of using the censure procedure and barring him from ever running for office again.
Now thanks to prosecutorial overkill — 91 charges and several lawsuits —Trump has attracted widespread sympathy and funding as he portrays himself as persecuted. He is now more popular than ever and is even getting more support from blacks than he has ever had. Unbelievable!
His chief rival, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, soldiers on forlornly. But she has made at least one significant prediction. She notes, correctly, that polls show that almost 70 per cent of the electorate do not want a rematch between these two old, tired war horses and the first party that chooses a younger candidate will win the election. Although that candidate won’t be her, she may well be right.
Much is being made by the Democrats about the weight of the legal problems Trump faces. Little thought seems to be given to the chances of any judge and 12 jurors convicting — and jailing — the candidate of one of the two parties in an election year, although what would happen afterwards if Trump loses the election is quite another matter.
On the other hand, the Republican propaganda has been focused on President Joe Biden’s alleged/perceived diminished mental acuity, not to mention his mishandling of the southern border issue, his failure to support a ceasefire in the face of the slaughter of innocents in Gaza, and his calls for huge funding for Ukraine’s forlorn hope of defeating Russia. While these issues have caused Biden to fall behind Trump in polls and his approval ratings to sink to unprecedented lows, these could be transitory problems, which may not necessarily derail his chances in a general election. Having said that, since perception in politics is everything, Biden could also be just one fall or slip away from oblivion.
But the bigger octopus in the room is what the Democrats and their media darlings don’t want to face: the mounting evidence the Republicans say they are gathering which they hope will lead to the impeachment of Biden on the grounds of bribery.
Politically, if this came to pass, it would be far more deadly than any of the more esoteric legal issues Trump faces. Every voter understands bribery. Less so Trump’s various alleged violations of the constitution.
In the 2020 presidential debate, and subsequently, Biden vehemently denied any knowledge or involvement in the somewhat dodgy business dealings of his embattled son Hunter Biden who is now before the courts. Biden’s media backers keep saying there is no direct evidence linking any of his son’s business dealings to the president, as if they never heard of circumstantial evidence.
The Republicans beg to differ. They say they have a mountain of evidence, soon to be plastered all over the world. For example, that the son set up 20 dummy companies to hide shady transactions, that banks have flagged more than 150 such transactions as “suspicious”, evidence of Biden himself being on several phone calls and attending dinners with “shady” Chinese and Russian characters, photos of Biden with some of these characters, thousands of e-mails allegedly tying Biden to transactions, an e-mail from the son setting out the percentages that each Biden family member gets from the transactions (including 10 per cent for “Mr Big”), and at least one cheque made out to the president for exactly 10 per cent the day after one such transaction.
This is deadly serious stuff. If even 50 per cent of these allegations can be supported by the evidence, the Republicans are seeking to unearth in their current impeachment inquiry, not being covered by mainstream media like CNN, then Biden is toast.
The men in white coats will take him out of the White House and he will be happy to go with them instead of men in uniform.
However, if this happens and Biden is taken out to pasture before the election, the Republicans should be careful what they wish for. Waiting in the shadows is Gavin Newsome the young, telegenic, articulate, experienced Democratic governor of California. He is said to be quietly gathering a war chest, just in case. He has already previewed for the election when he debated former Republican golden boy Ron Desantis on television a couple months ago.
Stay tuned and watch the ride.