Donald Trump will likely try to turn any indictment to his advantage by stoking anger among core supporters over what they see as the weaponisation of the justice system.
Donald Trump will try to turn any indictment to his advantage by stoking anger among core supporters over what they see as the weaponisation of the justice system, though it may also push more Republicans tired of the drama around him to look for another presidential candidate. A Manhattan grand jury could bring charges as soon as this week against the former Republican president for alleged hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, and has blasted the investigation as a “witch hunt”. “Our enemies are desperate to stop us because they know that we are the only ones who can stop them,” Trump said in a video posted on his Truth Social platform overnight into Tuesday. While the prosecution of a former president is unprecedented in US history and places Trump in legal peril, it will likely be viewed by his most loyal supporters as politically motivated and only harden their determination to back him in the 2024 Republican primary, party officials, strategists and political analysts said. “I think this will strengthen the resolve of his supporters,” said Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist who represented Trump in many media appearances during the 2020 presidential campaign. Why a Trump indictment would be unprecedented in US history But to win the party’s nomination, Trump will likely have to broaden his support beyond the 25-30 per cent of the Republican electorate generally thought to be in his corner no matter what, especially if the field of Republican candidates narrows in the coming months.
