Trump’s Fuse Keeps Burning

After Donald Trump’s latest indictment, there will be no more reconciliation in America. One can only hope that the looming political mudslinging proceeds peacefully.

In a constitutional state, which the U.S. undoubtedly is, no one should stand above the law, not even a former president. In principle, then, there is little reason to protest Donald Trump’s recent indictment in a federal court.

Lax handling of classified government documents is not a gentleman’s crime, especially not when one behaves the way Trump has. It is in the interest of all American citizens who trust in justice and the rule of law that a Miami court determine whether Trump’s behavior was criminal.

However, the U.S. is unfortunately also the Western society in which culture wars between left and right have advanced the farthest. Even previous court proceedings against Trump have shown how polarized the perception of the judicial system has become. Trump’s hardcore followers have never let themselves be impressed by Trump’s legal problems, which, after all, are an expression of his political and character shortcomings.

The Affair Could Help Trump and Joe Biden

One can take the pulse of large swaths of the Republican base based on the fact that, even now, Trump’s challengers don’t dare to oppose him. The political reading of the Republican Party, which used to be conservative and today has a strong reactionary streak running through it, is that the administration of Trump’s successor is trying to shut him down through legal means.

In terms of election strategy, it is likely that the situation could help Trump in winning the party’s nomination but help Biden win the general election. Still, that is an inadequate way to describe the (practical) consequences of having one of the most prominent presidential candidates embroiled in a legal case that could send him to jail.

The reconciliation of America that many had hoped for after Trump was voted out of office will not happen. The fuse that he lit continues to burn. And the judicial system will not emerge unharmed from the pending mudslinging. One can only hope that it proceeds peacefully.