Conspirators
No one seriously believes that Donald Trump is "innocent," where innocent means he didn't actually do what prosecutors say he did.
What's at issue in America isn't whether Trump paid off an adult film actress or lied about classified documents or incited a riot on January 6, 2021 by insisting the election was stolen from him. Trump's millions of disciples don't so much dispute the veracity of the allegations leveled against their messiah as much as they dispute the idea that the charges constit
Various reports have stated that in 2022 and through the first half of 2023, Trump has spent about $40M of funds raised by his ‘Save America’ PAC on his personal legal expenses.
I am willing to bet that the average person who contributes to the ‘Save America’ PAC thinks they are contributing to Trump’s reelection campaign and do not understand that Save America is a Leadership PAC, which is a certain type of PAC that is not allowed to directly support their own candidate’s campaign. In reality, donors are paying Trump’s personal legal expenses.
Campaign finance reform- please!!
Trump can pardon himself for the Federal charges against him but he can’t pardon himself in the state cases. The destruction in credibility he would have to cause at justice to get out of all of these various charges would have far reaching consequences for the legitimacy of the United States. Considering that in 2 elections he has never come close to winning the popular vote, the only way he gets in is on an electoral college victory. The electoral college is already very unpopular owing to its strategic advantage to less populous states and undermining of the popular vote and national majority opinions. So you’d have an illegitimate president delegitimizing the Federal government and more importantly the law. The protest against all of that would likely make January 6 look like the tourist visit the right wing outlets would have us all believe it was.
I am glad Trump was indicted for his role in the insurrection, but this makes the result of the 2024 election as binary and it can be. For the reasons you explain so well, it is imperative for Trump to win and stay out of prison, for the US it is imperative Trump loses if we, as a nation, have any hope of continuing to be a democracy, we will not be a democratic country after a Trump second term. I don’t trust our electorate, so more than ever a recession in 2024 would be a blow to national security and stability, we cannot afford giving Trump any advantages in his quest for survival. I will say it, inflation risk be damned, the Fed should start thinking about easing soon, implement YCC if they have to, use any excuses to keep policy from tightening further, the risk of a hard landing now is not increased unemployment and a bear market, the risk is existential to our system.
We pussy-foot around the real issue in these discussions and punditry. If Trump ever takes the oath of office again, the US will become a Cheshire Cat and begin to disappear just as Germany did in the 1930s when Hitler became permanent Chancellor. At this point if Congress passes to the GOP, just as the SCOTUS has, there will be nothing to stop his transfer of all power to him. And nothing to save the value of all our investments. Someone needs to notice that.
This line — “Trump’s not being hounded by prosecutors because of his political beliefs — he can’t even pronounce ideology, let alone spell it — made me LOL!
… where o’ where would we be save for your perceptive analysis ??