Despite the accusations, the political pundit says Trump loyalists won’t be swayed
While former President Donald Trump has a long legal road ahead of him, one political expert doesn’t think there will be much of a short-term impact on his presidential campaign.
“The charges are serious, but I don’t know if they will dislodge his loyal supporters who have stuck with him for the long haul,” said Larry Jacobs, a politics professor at the University of Minnesota.
On Friday, US Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith announced details of the latest charges against the former president.
“An indictment was unsealed, charging Donald J. Trump with criminal violations of our national security laws, as well as engaging in a conspiracy to obstruct justice,” Smith said during a press conference, later adding: “We have a set of laws on this subject. country, and they apply to everyone.”
There are 37 felony counts in total, accusing Trump of improperly storing sensitive documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Photos shared by the DOJ show that some documents were stored in a bathroom, a ballroom, a bedroom and an office. According to the indictment, some of those documents included information about nuclear programs and the nation’s weapons and defense capabilities.
“There are a lot of reasons to think that Donald Trump may be in trouble now,” Jocobs said, adding, “There are a lot of candidates running against them. [and] the charges of betraying national security are very serious, [the charges are] Very detailed, some of the candidates running against them may start to echo some of those charges.”
Jacobs says the first challenge that will test the Trump faithful is the Republican primaries.
“Donald Trump has a stronghold of about 25% or so of the Republican primary voter — these are the people who will determine who the Republican nominee for president is in 2024. I don’t know if Donald Trump will lose that support.” Jacobs explained.
He also said that as more candidates join the race for the Republican nomination — that number is now more than 10 — Jacobs says the likelihood of Trump becoming the nominee also increases.
“It’s spreading that vote, it’s going to dissipate, and Donald Trump’s 25 percent or so may seem stronger and stronger, harder and harder to overcome. So I think [it’s] It’s not clear whether Donald Trump can be beaten,” he explained.
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