Donald Trump has not only faced two impeachment proceedings – he now has 91 criminal cases against him. But his unique ability to polarise the Republican electorate and to rally his supporters around him with absolute fervour makes it difficult to find just punishment for his crimes.
In early August 2023, Jack Smith, the special prosecutor of the Department of Justice in Washington D.C., announces the historic four-count indictment against the former president of the United States of America – Donald Trump.
Just two weeks later, Fani Willis, the district attorney of Fulton County in the state of Georgia, filed another lawsuit against Donald Trump. She accuses him of being the head of a conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential elections. More lawsuits from other states may follow.
Backgrounder: Michigan’s ‘fake electors’ charges, explained,
Nothing seems to stop Donald Trump from breaking the law. Nor do his party colleagues seem particularly bothered by the fact that their presidential front-runner has already been convicted by a grand jury and faces further trials. On the contrary.
Why will Donald Trump remain the Republican front-runner?
The Republican Party seems to like the hype around Donald Trump, not least because it uses this attention as a fundraising strategy. Republican politicians are also afraid of how voters will react. According to the polls, voters are still close to the ex-president. When the New York district attorney’s office accused Donald Trump in March 2023 of criminal behaviour in campaign financing, Donald Trump’s poll ratings skyrocketed.
Even when Donald Trump was convicted by a jury in the spring of sexual abuse and subsequent defamation of his victim, he gave a television interview on CNN, defamed his victim again and celebrated himself as a future presidential candidate. The audience cheered.
His Republican rivals in the presidential race are still united behind him. His closest rival, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, rails against the government, the „politicisation of the rule of law“ and the citizens of Washington D.C.. The latter allegedly have a „swamp mentality“ and Washington is called a „swamp“ and it is „unfair to have to answer to a jury that reflects the mentality of the swamp“.
Other Republican candidates running against Donald Trump in the presidential election are defending him in a similar way. Obviously, this is because politicians who criticise Donald Trump receive little public support.
Trump’s critics risk their careers
When Donald Trump’s vice-president, Mike Pence, turned on him after the storming of the Capitol, declaring that someone who „puts himself above the Constitution should never be president of the United States“, he suddenly became deeply unpopular.
Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, also said that Trump was „responsible“ for the attack on the Capitol. After the mid-term elections in November 2022, Kevin McCarthy had considerable problems keeping his position in the House of Representatives.
Trump’s supporters celebrate
If you ask Republican campaign strategists, they expect the indictments against Donald Trump to have no negative impact on Trump’s electoral chances. In fact, they will expand his support base. It seems that Donald Trump always manages to reinforce the misconception that he is the victim of conspirators who are trying to protect their privileges against his rebellious policies. Meanwhile, Donald Trump is working to weaken public confidence in the electoral system and even the law.
He has demonstrated his ability to rally his supporters and to polarise the American people politically. His poll numbers are stable and highly favourable. As a result, his party colleagues dare not oppose him. The Republicans hope that the American legal system will finally stop Donald Trump.
To the German translation of this article: Wann haben die US-Republikaner endlichen genug?