A supporter of Donald Trump raises a flag outside the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Monday.Credit:AP
Or October 2016,when a damningAccess Hollywood video was leaked in which Trump was overheard bragging about being able tograb women “by the p---y. You can do anything”. He ended up beating Democratic rival Hillary Clinton a month later.
And even after last year’s midterms,when the Republican “red wave” failed to materialise,most believed he was such a diminished figure there was no way he would stand a chance running for another term.
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And yet,last week,as he awaited a potential indictment,he posted one of his largest Republican primary leads,with 54 per cent of potential primary voters supporting him in a Monmouth poll,compared with 26 per cent backing his biggest rival,Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Trump has denied the allegations,describing the indictment as “political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history”.
He’s also said he has no plans to stand down from the race and,for the past few weeks,has used the case to embark on a fundraising blitz by claiming he is once again the subject of a witch-hunt,this time by a Democratic district attorney in one of the nation’s most left-leaning states.
No one should be above the law,but America is now in uncharted waters,with a former president who you underestimate at your own peril.
The danger is that if the charges don’t stick,it could undermine faith in the other investigations against him,bolster his chances of victory in 2024 and further divide a fiercely fractured country.
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