I have a feeling that after this brouhaha between former President Donald Trump and New York’s district attorney’s office is concluded, Trump will be sending a fruit basket and thank-you card to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for giving him such a gift. Indeed, Bragg’s potential decision to indict Trump is such a boon to the former president’s campaign that you have to wonder if the district attorney wears a MAGA hat behind closed doors.
Ever since Trump announced last Saturday that he was expecting to be indicted this week, he has been making the most of the matter. The greatest showman in politics is using every aspect of this development to rile up even more support for his campaign. Indeed, a new report from the Guardian said the former president wishes to show up in court in handcuffs if he is indicted.
According to sources close to him, former President Donald Trump has expressed his desire to be arrested and arraigned in handcuffs if he is charged with unprecedented charges in the “hush money” case involving adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Trump reportedly told his advisers that he wants to turn the ordeal into a “spectacle” if he has to go through the process. The 76-year-old also allegedly wants to avoid any special treatment that could make him appear weak, as he seeks the Republican nomination for a third White House bid in 2024.
It is unclear how serious Trump is about this plan, as it could potentially be stopped by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Trump’s lawyers, on the other hand, have urged him to surrender quietly and be arraigned remotely if he is indicted. The lawyers have cited Secret Service concerns about security, which Trump allegedly brushed off by telling his friends that he didn’t care if he got shot because it would make him a “martyr.”
In a series of Truth Social posts, the former president is railing against Bragg’s office, accusing him of acting in a politically-motivated manner.
On Thursday, Trump made two posts castigating the New York District Attorney’s office, which has delayed grand jury proceedings and a potential announcement of an indictment. He wrote:
Total disarray in the Manhattan D.A.’s Office. Tremendous dissension and chaos because they have NO CASE, and many of the honest people in the Office know it, and want to do the right thing. They think back to the Late, Great, Bob Morgenthau, the best ever, and know what he would have done. JUSTICE FOR ALL!
Trump continued:
Isn’t it terrible that D.A. Bragg refuses to do the right thing and “call it a day?” He would rather indict an innocent man and create years of hatred, chaos, and turmoil, than give him his well deserved “freedom.” The whole Country sees what is going on, and they’re not going to take it anymore. They’ve had enough! There was no Error made, No Misdemeanor, No Crime and, above all, NO CASE. They spied on my campaign, Rigged the Election, falsely Impeached, cheated and lied. They are HUMAN SCUM!
It is not difficult to see how the former president is expertly using this matter for his own benefit. By even considering the indictment, Bragg and Democrats are giving even more credence to Trump’s (rightful) claims that the left has been using the power of the government to target him. Indeed, there is a long and foul history of government agencies being used to hamper his progress. From Spygate, to Russia collusion, to the Democratic House Select Jan. 6 Committee farce, Democrats have used the state in various ways to attack their political opposition.
In this case, many Americans – including Democrats – can see that this whole situation is purely political in nature.
A recent opinion poll conducted by Reuters/Ipsos found that while a majority of Americans believe the allegations that former President Donald Trump paid hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, nearly half of respondents believe the New York investigation into the matter is politically motivated.
The two-day poll, which concluded on Tuesday, found that 70 percent of respondents found it believable that Trump paid Daniels for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter during his 2016 presidential campaign, including half of Republicans. Additionally, 62 percent of respondents, including a third of Republicans, said it was believable that Trump falsified business records and committed fraud. However, the poll also found that 54 percent of respondents, including 80 percent of Republicans and 32 percent of Democrats, believed that politics was driving the criminal case being considered by a Manhattan grand jury.
In pursuing this indictment, Bragg handed Trump and his team a new shiny weapon on a silver platter that he will be using to great effect. Unless there is some actual evidence of egregious wrongdoing, the former president will use this move to secure the GOP nomination. It is not clear how it will help him in the general election yet. But we can be sure the former president will have more than a few tricks up his sleeve when it comes to exploiting what could be the biggest mistake Democrats have made in this election season so far.
