Donald Trump thinks the whole of America loves him so much that if he is thrown behind bars, it will spark a popular uprising.
The former president, now a convicted felon, believes the public would not be able to take it if the judge were to sentence him to “house arrest or jail” on July 11.
He even warned jailing him would be a “breaking point” for the public, meaning presumably they would not be able to control themselves and might go berserk and burn democracy, with all its justice system, down in the name of Trump.
Is America safe from Trump? The man will most likely be the standard-bearer of the Republican party in the November presidential election if he is not ditched for his crime. The party still has great faith in him and reckons he can recapture the White House.
Polls even put Trump ahead of President Joe Biden in a rematch that may turn dirty, ugly, venomous. Trump is a wounded political animal who is going all out to topple the incumbent whom he blames for all his legal and political woes.
‘Arrogant, intolerance, dangerous’
In the 2016 presidential election, one observer wrote: “If Donald Trump wins, it would be a catastrophe for his country but also for the rest of the world. Racist, vulgar, full of himself and his fortune, he epitomises the worst of America.”
Trump won but in his first term in the Oval Office, he sure came out looking “arrogant, intolerant and dangerous” at home and abroad. When he lost to Biden in the 2020 presidential election, his conduct turned nasty when he refused to concede defeat because he believed the election was stolen from him.
He left the White House in a huff without attending the traditional inauguration ceremony of his successor. But his most infamous act was the role he played in the Capitol Hill “insurrection”.
After delivering an inflammatory speech, he goaded his army of supporters, mostly described as extremists and white supremacists, to march onto Capitol Hill to stop Congress from certifying Biden’s victory.
With the battle cries of “Fight for Trump”, the rowdy crowd took the cue from their commander-in-chief and stormed the seat of government in scenes that would forever remain an indelible blot on American history.
Trump’s desperate bid to save himself
Now, the same man is trying to make a comeback. In this third presidential campaign, Trump is firing on all cylinders to get back in the driver’s seat in what is seen as a desperate bid to save himself.
For sure, he will direct intense fire on Biden and the justice system itself during his hustings. To him, the trial is “rigged”, the judge who presided over his trial is a “crook”, and the whole case is “masterminded” by Biden.
(For the record, Trump was found guilty of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal that could have wrecked his first presidential campaign in 2016.)
Like all politicians the world over who are hauled to court for criminal offences, he screamed “political persecution”. Back on the campaign trail after his conviction, Trump is vigorously pedalling the fib that he is “very innocent”.
Every time he draws huge crowds on his stump, he is sending a message to the Justice Department that the people of America believe in his narrative and no one can keep him from the White House.
Perhaps, he can rely on the Capitol Hill insurrectionists to return, and this time, invade the Supreme Court to force it to overturn his conviction.
The Republican party, which has no other presidential candidate except Trump, will be very busy stepping on the gas to convince the electorate that their man has been unjustly prosecuted.
At every campaign stop, Trump will be eulogised, polished, made over and washed thoroughly until he comes out looking whiter than snow.
In the end, the 2024 presidential election is not about making America great but it is all about making Donald Trump great again. - Mkini
PHLIP RODRIGUES is a retired journalist.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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