The presidential election is about to become inextricably entangled with Donald Trump’s criminal turmoil as his crushing calendar of legal obligations collides with the race to the Iowa caucuses in two weeks.
The juxtaposition of the courtroom and campaign trail will set the tone for an unprecedented White House race overshadowed by the ex-president’s four looming criminal trials. When the first votes are cast in the Republican primary race, the country will embark on a political test that will again stretch its unity, democracy and legal institutions to the limit. Trump is leaving no doubt that he would use a second term to punish his political enemies and would likely seek to use the powers of the presidency to evade accountability for his attempt to steal the 2020 election.
The election could even see Trump, the GOP front-runner, run as a convicted felon in November, depending on the timing of his trials and if he wins the nomination. As the primary season begins for real this month, the most likely scenario in November is a tight rematch, which polls show most voters don’t want, between the ex-president and the current one.
Trump is determined to make an unmistakable statement by winning Iowa, after failing to do in 2016, as the first step in an extraordinary political comeback. It’s only been three years since he left Washington in disgrace after refusing to accept the result of the 2020 election and whipped up a mob that attacked the US Capitol in a stunning assault on democracy. Now, Trump – who faces 91 criminal charges – is well positioned to become only the second ex-president after Grover Cleveland in 1892 to claim a non-consecutive second term that would rock the country and the world.
The ex-president rang in the New Year Monday with a wild social media post filled with falsehoods about the 2020 election and unsubstantiated accusations that…
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