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In a typical presidential election year, candidates will spend the 11 months leading up to election day shaking hands and kissing babies at rallies as the primaries unfold.
But nothing is typical when it comes to Donald Trump.
Instead, the ex-president will be forced to juggle his campaign for the White House while also defending himself in federal and state courts in four different trials that are currently set to occur between January and May.
Kicking off with E Jean Carroll’s damages trial on the same day as the Iowa caucus to his federal classified documents trial one month before the GOP convention, Mr Trump’s jam-packed schedule seemingly leaves little time for him to socialise outside of a courtroom.
How Mr Trump will manage his campaign while convincing voters he’s innocent of it all – including alleged efforts to overturn previous elections in his favour – remains to be seen.
What does Donald Trump’s calendar look like?
25 March 2024 – Hush-money payment trial begins
Last year, Mr Trump became the first sitting or former president to be criminally indicted after being charged with 34 counts pertaining to falsifying business records in a Manhattan criminal court. Now, jury selection is set to begin in late March.
The charges stem from an investigation by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg that alleges Mr Trump tried to cover up hush money payments that he made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels in 2016 to silence her claims of an extramarital affair.
Mr Trump sits at the defence table with his legal team in a Manhattan court in April last year
(AP)
25 April 2024 – Supreme Court hears oral arguments for Trump’s presidential immunity defence
The Supreme Court agreed in February to hear the case from Mr Trump after lower courts rejected his presidential immunity defence from criminal charges related to his alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The arguments will take place on the last day of the court’s calendar. The court’s ruling is highly anticipated after the election conspiracy case, prosecuted by special counsel Jack Smith in Washington, DC, essentially came to a halt when Mr Trump came forward with his defence.
So far, Mr Trump’s defence has been shot down at both the appeals court and by the federal judge overseeing the case. Last month, appeals court judges wrote that “citizen Trump” is not shielded by executive immunity, and that his “alleged efforts to remain in power despite losing the 2020 election were, if proven, an unprecedented assault on the structure of our government.”
July 2024 – federal classified documents trial could begin
Mr Trump is expected back in federal court this summer, this time in Florida, to face 40 charges pertaining to his alleged mishandling of sensitive government documents.
Officials have yet to announce an exact date, but prosecutors have proposed 8 July as an option. The trial was initially supposed to begin 20 May.
Federal prosecutors indicted Mr Trump last June for allegedly unlawfully retaining top-secret documents that contained national security information at his Mar-a-Lago home after he left office. The charges include violating a section of the Espionage Act for allegedly unlawfully retaining top-secret documents that contained national security information.
15-18 July 2024 – GOP convention
After the remaining states conduct their primaries, the Republican Party will host its convention where it will announce an official nominee.
At the moment, Mr Trump is the unofficial presumptive Republican nominee after his final GOP opponent, Nikki Haley, dropped out of the race. Her concession came after losing fourteen state primaries to the former president on Super Tuesday.
5 August 2024 – Georgia election interference trial
Three months before election day, Mr Trump is expected to head to trial in Georgia for his alleged involvement in trying to overturn the state’s 2020 election results in his favour.
The former president was charged with violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute along with 18 other co-defendants.
Mr Trump faces 12 additional charges including solicitation of a public officer, conspiracy to make false statements under oath and more.
However, the trial could be delayed as District Attorney Fani Willis faces allegations from Mr Trump’s legal team that a previous romantic relationship with a proseuctor she hired for the case presents a conflict of interest.
5 November 2024 – Election Day
On Tuesday, 5 November, US voters will head to the polls to cast their vote for president.
Mr Trump delivers a speech at the Republican convention in 2016 – the party will host this year’s convention in July, where it will announce an official nominee
(Getty Images)
How will this affect Donald Trump?
Glancing over Mr Trump’s calendar, it may seem like his ability to successfully campaign is virtually impossible. But the ex-president has positioned himself to benefit from his trials.
“In a weird way, none of this really bothers him. In fact, it’s a great asset for him politically,” Kevin O’Brien, a partner at Ford O’Brien Landy LLP and former assistant US attorney, told The Independent.
Mr Trump has capitalised on his trials by painting himself as a victim – or martyr as Mr O’Brien points out – to appeal to his supporters.
After each indictment, the ex-president’s campaign has called on supporters to express their outrage through their wallets. Splashed across his website, Truth Social posts and emails is Mr Trump’s new slogan: “They’re not after me, they’re after you… I’m just standing in the way.”
Mr Trump has capitalised on his trials by painting himself as a victim, calling on his supporters to express their outrage through their wallets
(Getty Images)
Even though some of the trials raise questions about Mr Trump’s ability to lead the country successfully – like his classified documents case and the federal election interference case – his former job and loyal fanbase reinforce his ability to be president.
“He can always argue, and he will argue up until the day of the election, this is all unfair and he wasn’t able to campaign effectively because of all these persecutions from Garland and Biden,” Mr O’Brien said.
But the likelihood that Mr Trump will actually have to juggle three criminal trials and a campaign at the same time is still unclear. Though the judges in each case have set start dates, they can be changed – and according to Mr O’Brien, it is likely that they will be.
Mr O’Brien said the three trials are “not feasible” because they require massive time and resources from both the prosecutors and Mr Trump’s legal team.
“It’s terribly unfair to the defence,” Mr O’Brien said. “It takes months and months to prepare for one of these large white-collar cases – he only has so much manpower at his disposal.”
Already, Mr Trump’s legal team has sought to delay the trials by using every legal motion possible.
Most likely is that two of the trials against Mr Trump will need to be delayed until after the election. Prosecutors may choose to go forward with the strongest case against the ex-president which appears to be the federal election interference case.
“Those issues are important for voters, it’s important to know how he intends to defend himself against what appears to be a pretty serious constitutional and criminal offence,” Mr O’Brien said.
Mr O’Brien suggested the case could take two to three months to be completed which would mean the trial could conclude shortly before the GOP convention.
Even if it’s the only case Mr Trump is trailed in before the election, there’s no telling how the outcome will change voters’, and the Republican Party’s, perception of the former president.
