The United States has just witnessed or even experienced a new political and legal precedent when Donald Trump had to go to Florida to face arraignment on the first-ever federal charges against a former president.
| Former US President Donald Trump. Source: AFP/VNA |
Trump is currently the GOP frontrunner for the 2024 U.S. presidential election and is facing a 37-count federal indictment. Trump wouldn't be Trump if he didn't insist that he hasn't committed any crimes. But the 37 charges filed by the Department of Justice are very serious and could be dangerous and fraught with risk for Trump's political ambitions and future. Chief among them are the 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information, which is a violation of the US Espionage Act.
The remaining six counts relate to allegations that Trump made false statements and attempted to conceal or withhold documents from investigators, or conspired to obstruct justice. Trump is accused of intentionally withholding dozens of documents containing some of the nation's most sensitive military secrets when he left the White House in 2021. If convicted, Trump would face the possibility of several years in prison.
At first glance, it looks very bad for Trump. All the allegations are deadly serious and seem to have substance. If not in the United States, but anywhere in the world, Trump would not have the opportunity to continue his political ambitions and activities. He could and should kiss his current political ambitions goodbye.
But America wouldn't be America, as Americans believe and as the world outside of America perceives it, if there were no possibility for Trump to turn his current precarious situation around. And Trump wouldn't be the man he always appears to be, and who everyone knows, if he didn't quickly seize and maximize that opportunity.
His strategy is to capitalize on all his troubles with the DOJ and the courts for his election campaign, accusing the Joe Biden administration of weaponizing the US criminal justice system against him with the aim of preventing him from taking over the White House again in 2024. His strategy is to present himself as a victim of political persecution in America and to radicalize his supporters inside and outside the Republican world in the US.
He needs his loyal supporters to preserve his chances of winning the upcoming presidential election, because he is always aware of the fact that he will never get the majority of the popular votes. In the U.S., it is not the majority of popular votes that decides who becomes president, but the majority of electoral votes. All the accusations and trials against him would create an immense motivation for his supporters to help him get the highest office in the US again.
All predictions point to a tough race for the White House and politically and socially turbulent, even violent and unstable times ahead.
Disclaimer: The views expressed by Ambassador Tran Duc Mau are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Hanoi Times.
