oxygenA Manhattan jury on Thursday found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 counts of conspiracy and fraud stemming from payments the former president arranged to cover up his extramarital affair with adult film actor Stormy Daniels. The presumptive Republican nominee is now a convicted felon.
He was already a convicted sexual predator and fraudster. Trump once joked that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and get away with it. Maybe not.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 11. Of course, Trump is unlikely to serve time in jail for the accounting charges. Instead, he could be put on probation and required to report to the New York City Probation Department, an experience described as a “humiliating” one. Regardless, this conviction does not disqualify him as a candidate or prevent him from ever occupying the Oval Office again.
Indeed, Americans who support Joe Biden must recognize that Trump’s conviction is unlikely to significantly affect his chances of re-election as president — odds that are already far higher than many Democrats are willing to admit. The betting market is on his side.
The deadline for further motions is June 27, which is also the day of the first presidential debate. Trump has denied the charges against him and has previously called the trial “rigged” and a “sham.” As he left court on Thursday, he told those watching the cameras: “This was a rigged, shameful trial. The real verdict will be passed by the people on November 5.”
He adopted the same strategy after losing the Iowa caucuses in 2016 and again to Biden in 2020. Regardless, his shame and desire for revenge are real. Just look at January 6th. For its part, the Republican Party, the so-called law and order party, has adopted a convicted criminal as its standard bearer.
However, the defeat in the New York court is different from Trump’s defeat in November. The 45th president had the honor of campaigning against an 81-year-old man with a shambling gait and a hesitant expression.
The calendar will quickly test any boost Biden gets from his predecessor’s criminal convictions.
On June 3, Hunter Biden’s trial on federal gun charges kicked off in Delaware. The president seems oblivious to this reality, recently hosting his prodigal son at Kenyan President William Ruto’s state dinner. In early September, just as the fall campaign officially begins, Hunter Biden will also face trial on criminal tax charges.
By the end of June, the U.S. Supreme Court may also provide Trump with another boost. The Republican-dominated high court is expected to further slow down the special counsel’s election interference case against Trump, ostensibly over presidential immunity.
Finally, the first presidential debate is scheduled for June 27. It’s been four years since Biden and a coronavirus-ridden Trump faced off in front of the cameras. Trump’s attitude is too strong, while Biden is wavering. Biden Fossil fuels have also been affected, making the race in Pennsylvania even tighter.
No matter how you look at it, Biden’s post-State of the Union resurgence is over. He continues to trail Trump in key battleground states. he runs behind Democratic Senate candidates in Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania, among others.
Let’s be clear, rejection is personal to some degree. Doubts about Biden’s continued leadership and ability to govern have only grown. Most Americans believe Biden will be unable to curb inflation, let alone secure the border.
“Working-class voters are dissatisfied with President Biden’s economy,” Axios reported.
Beyond that, the sting of inflation is actually worse in so-called red America. It’s an ominous sign for the current president, whose difficulties with non-college graduates cut across race and ethnicity.
David Axelrod, Barack Obama’s top political adviser, criticized Obama’s Vice President Joe Biden. Axelrod tells CNN that economic growth under Biden is “absolutely a fact” but voters “are experiencing it right now” [the economy] Through the lens of cost of living. He is a man who has built his career on empathy. Why not lead with empathy?
Instead, Biden has touted his record to tepid applause.
“If he doesn’t win this race, it may not be Donald Trump who beats him,” Axelrod continued. “It’s probably a matter of pride on his part.”
By the numbers, Biden leads among suburban parents and households making more than $50,000, but trails among those earning less. His voting base bears little resemblance to the lunch-pail coalition that brought Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy to the White House in the previous century.
“We’ve always wondered why these young people don’t come back to the Democratic Party. Why are they? [Black voters] Not going back to the Democrats? James Carville, the campaign guru who won Bill Clinton in 1992, lamented recently. “Because the Democratic Party’s message is full of shit, that’s why.”
Once upon a time, Cavill coined the phrase: “It’s the economy, stupid.” Thirty years on, its authenticity and resonance have not diminished.
Likewise, Biden’s move to the left economically ignores the reality that he must embrace the cultural center. Working-class Americans want stability, safe streets and paychecks that will allow them to go farther. Campus radicals, riots, and identity politics are distasteful.
Since Trump and Biden first met, they have both aged and slowed down. Trump continued to display manic endurance at stumps. By comparison, Biden’s event was lackluster, poorly attended and overly scripted. For the president, “spontaneity” is synonymous with “gaffe”.
Whether Biden can bring his best to the June debates could determine his fate. If he loses, Democrats are expected to have a long summer. Indeed, the party convention in Chicago may rekindle unpleasant memories of 1968.
To win, Biden must quickly capitalize on Trump’s faith. The jury is still out on whether the 46th president has the necessary skills.
