President Trump has a base of folks in the Republican Party who are determined to nominate him as the GOP standard-bearer in 2024 – and to move into the Oval Office in January of 2025.
There are endless ways to examine that story, but one facet is rather interesting. That is what seems to be the efforts of Democrats and left-wing media to support Trump’s ambitions – at least as far as the primary goes.
It is not unheard of that an opposition party would work to nominate a candidate of another party because they believe he or she would be the easier candidate to beat. For lessor offices, folks from one party are sometimes encouraged to actually vote in the other party’s primary to nominate the perceived weakest candidate.
It does not always work. Historically, California Governor Pat Brown and President Jimmy Carter both worked and prayed that they would get Ronald Reagan as their opponent. They did – and the results are history. In the 2020 midterm election, Democrats went so far as to spend millions of dollars to nominate those they saw as the weaker candidates – the Trump candidates. In that case, their cynical strategy worked as most were defeated.
This year the collective left appears to be aiding and abetting Trump’s desire to be the GOP nominee in 2024 in a backhanded way – but not with money or praise. But by mercilessly attacking – building sympathy among Republican voters.
I cannot say that it is a preconceived strategy or just a result of their aggressive attacks – but whatever it is, it seems to be working. As Trump comes under increasingly harsh winnowing attacks, his numbers go up. He has moved from being the once impossible candidate to the level of a possible candidate.
Readers will recall that I was among those who saw virtually no possibility of Trump winning the GOP nomination. I have now had to hedge that bet. I still believe it is unlikely – just no longer impossible. And I credit that to the Democrats’ constant attacks in the media and the use of Democrat prosecutors to undertake investigations of virtually every aspect of Trump’s life – even issues that are decades old.
They report on what had been considered minor infractions as if they are capital offenses. Manhattan Prosecutor Alvin Bragg is even taking an old civil case and using novel legal arguments to elevate it to a jailable felony. A riot becomes an insurrection and even an ongoing coup attempt. Even the White House documents case – a civil infraction – is being pursued as a major felony. (Although, I do concede that Trump’s refusal to return the documents put him in a different category than all other comparable cases.)
Even folks who may not like Trump and were prepared to back an opposition candidate, seem to be giving Trump their support because of the excessive attacks that seem so political. That is why his numbers are going up at a time Democrats thought they should be going down. Perhaps that is why Florida Governor Ron DeSantis surged and is now declining a bit as the candidate of choice.
Some Democrats worry that the excessive attacks – especially from the prosecutors – are backfiring. Those concerns come from people who sincerely want Trump removed from all manners of power and influence.
But others seem to understand that the attacks enhance Trump — and they pile on to get him the Republican nomination. Perhaps that is too cynical on my part. The fact remains, however, that the constant legal and media assaults on Trump are not hurting him politically – arguably helping him.
The case that has many on the left apoplectic is the Stormy Daniels Case. In the past, most Democrats and left-wing pundits were ready to put Trump on the gallows for the payoff to the professional skin flute player. Now they worry that (1) the case is weak and over-charged and (2) by going first, it may undermine those other cases being handled by the prosecutor in Fulton County, Georgia, the White House Documents Case being handled by the Department of Justice, and the January 6th Case in the hands of a special counsel.
Some on the left are now worrying that not only will the aggressive prosecution help Trump, but that any cases that are dropped – or where they fail to secure a conviction – will be a major boost for him and reflect badly on Democrats.
As a result, the once certain indictment in the Stormy Daniels case is now only a probability as of this writing. There is debate as to how far the Department of Justice will proceed. Is it a civil issue or will they bring criminal charges based on obstruction of justice? Even those on the left are no longer confident that Attorney General Garland will throw the book at Trump.
And as far as the left-wing television former prosecutors are concerned, convicting Trump of insurrection will be very, very difficult since they must prove intent and convince all twelve jurors. It is hard to imagine that any jury would not have at least one member sympathetic to Trump. And that prospect improves if there is the wider public perception of excessive prosecution across-the-board.
It seems that the left-wing media has oversold both the nature of the cases and the prospects of convictions. ILs the aggressive prosecutions and the hyperbolic reporting going to backfire?
So, there ‘tis.