No matter what the verdict in the Trump hush money trial is, the political consequences for Democrats will be painful. They are in a lose-lose scenario of their own making.
Quick: what did Donald Trump do in New York to warrant a jury trial? Almost nobody can articulate it, but somehow this is worthy of prosecuting a former president in an election year?
Regardless of the verdict, Democrats will be giddy thinking they bolstered their case that Trump can’t be trusted. They will be wrong.
Of course, it’s inevitable that Republicans will be offended, outraged, and fired up. Rightly so. But the rest of America – the ones who will make the biggest difference in the swing states on Election Day – understand that this is lawfare of the banana republic variety.
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The rest of America rightly wonders why Democrats can only talk about Trump instead of issues that matter to them. Inflation, the economy, their credit card debt, $20 cheeseburger meals, a secure border, safety in their neighborhoods, energy costs, housing prices, and raging wars around the world all play second fiddle to this disaster of a show trial.
President Biden and his team tell us he is fit for another four years in the world’s most important and vigorous job. He doesn’t believe in polls, they say. Cutting the $40 bank fee to $8 when bouncing a check was a huge accomplishment. His eight new electric vehicle charging stations are solving climate change. The border is secure (but he can’t fix it with executive order #96). Donald Trump is evil. No one is buying it anymore.
No matter the verdict in the trial, the Biden playbook is set. Without substantive policy victories, he has pivoted to scare tactics suggesting we need to save democracy by defeating an evil Donald Trump.
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The problem is, they haven’t updated their playbook over the last three elections. People have heard it all before. And it doesn’t match the results they saw from the Trump administration. They already know what they get with him. Mean tweets, sure. But also low inflation, low unemployment for minority and low income populations, peace through strength, and vastly better border security.
People remember that life was good when Trump was president. Life isn’t so good with a bumbling Biden. No amount of gaslighting from administration economists can change that.
Ever since Donald Trump descended the golden escalator in June 2015, Democrats, many Republicans, and the Washington, D.C., political elite, have understood the threat. They loved Trump – as long as he stayed in New York, Hollywood, or golfing in Florida.
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But he went to D.C. and he was a threat. He didn’t need the D.C. adulation or their campaign donations. Trump wouldn’t catch Potomac fever, and they knew it. He was going to be a disrupting force. America loved it. They certainly trusted him more than they did Hillary Clinton.
Never mind that Trump was an international celebrity – someone everyone wanted at their parties and events. He was the NBC television star of "The Apprentice." He was rich, successful, famous, and married to an exceptionally beautiful wife. It was not the formula for the power brokers in D.C. who spend more than 20% of our GDP.
Since Trump officially entered the political scene, traditional media and the Democrats – with some help from so-called Republicans – have tried to paint Trump with a broad brush. Corruption, sleaze, nefarious intent – they painted him as a monster who would blow up the world if given a chance. Those tweets were so mean.
No matter the verdict, the problem for the Democrats is the same. They have been saying the same thing about Trump for nine years. Yet, their Russia hoax was exposed, the economy soared with Trump, the USA was brokering international peace in the Middle East, the border was being locked down, and inflation was always less than 3%.
Americans are exceptionally fair. They believe in justice for all. The unequal application of justice stirs a visceral disgust. With an acquittal, they have to answer why they campaigned on prosecuting Trump. With a hung jury, they are exposed for bringing a weak case against the leading candidate for president in an election year. And if guilty, can they even answer what Trump was found guilty of?
In every scenario, it’s a lose-lose for Democrats in the court of public opinion.
