This week, as the campaign intensifies into a new phase, the criminal prosecution of a past president will take center stage in the political drama surrounding an extraordinary legal drama surrounding the presidential election: that of the son of the current president.
Hunter, the son of President Joe Biden, will face federal firearms charges in Wilmington, Delaware, four days after the presumed GOP nominee Donald Trump was found guilty on 34 counts in his New York hush money trial. Following weeks of media attention to Trump's case, the president is looking for a political opportunity, and the trial is expected to be a moment of excruciating personal agony for him.
The president is anticipated to sign an executive order later this week that would significantly restrict the ability of migrants to apply for asylum at the southern border. This action, which comes at a critical juncture in both Biden's term and the campaign, will be interpreted as an attempt to offset Trump's advantage on a subject that forms the basis of his political career. However, there's a chance it may enrage progressive supporters, who are essential to the president's chances of winning in November but have grown weary of some of his positions, such as his backing of Israel.
As the campaign heats up ahead of the first presidential debate, which will take place on CNN at the end of the month, Democrats will also be looking to draw attention to what they consider to be radical right-wing abortion policies this week.
Biden will attempt to take the lead in an extremely close campaign as the fallout from his first conviction as a major party nominee and former president grows. Republicans have mostly distanced themselves from Trump, saying he is the victim of weaponized justice. The RNC and the former president's staff have also boasted about a purported $70 million fundraising surge that followed the conviction. Meanwhile, Democrats are arguing over how best to capitalize on Trump's conviction; some want to make a stronger effort to draw out Biden's opponent as a convicted criminal. It's too soon to say if the guilty decision would significantly affect politics in a country where sentiments toward the former president have long divided people.
According to a CBS/YouGov survey conducted on Sunday, however, 57% of Americans think the Manhattan jury got the right decision, while 43% disagree. Additionally, a recent ABC/Ipsos poll found that Americans agreed with the verdict almost two to one; however, opinions of Trump had not altered from before the jury's ruling.
Before the 2016 election, Trump was found guilty of fabricating corporate documents to conceal a payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. He intends to appeal after entering a not guilty plea. Even though the four criminal cases against Trump that include hush money are thought to be the least politically damaging, the conviction marks a humiliating moment for the twice-impeached former president who had previously lived a life of impunity. The trial will have a lasting impact on the campaign because Trump is promising to use November's election as his personal vindication over what he falsely claims is political persecution by the Biden administration, and his sentencing is scheduled for July 11, which is just four days before the start of the Republican National Convention.
Trump likens the US to autocracies in South America.
It's a fascinating sight to see one of the two major parties in the nation virtually turn its back on the rule of law, as the Republican acceptance of the party's presumed nominee persists despite his conviction by a jury of his own peers. This action implies that Trump would be unhindered by his party and maybe the law in a prospective second term, which he has promised to use as "retribution" against his political opponents.
In an interview that aired on Sunday morning, Trump admitted to being a victim to Fox News. "Weaponization is what it is, and it is extremely dangerous. That has never existed in this nation. They do have it in other nations, particularly in South American nations," he remarked. His divisive comments failed to acknowledge that his demagoguery and inability to accept his defeat in the 2020 election are far more indicative of banana republics in the developing world than a fair jury trial.
The RNC co-chair and daughter-in-law of the former president, Lara Trump, claimed that Trump had received unjust treatment in an interview with CNN's Kasie Hunt on "State of the Union" on Sunday. "This case would never have seen the light of day if his name had been anything other than Donald Trump," she declared. People are beginning to realize that they cannot trust our legal system. People are quite concerned about the America we may be facing if this becomes the standard that the US sets.
Democrats are disputing the GOP's assertion that New York is a liberal city and that Trump could never receive a fair trial there. Even though Biden has mainly avoided the controversy after stating that the verdict demonstrated that no one was above the law, other influential party members are also attempting to take political advantage of the guilty verdict. Rep. Adam Schiff of California, a candidate for the Senate, responded to Trump's criticisms regarding the jury selection process in the city where the former president rose to prominence in a straightforward manner.
"Denver Trump and his legal team had some say in the jury selection process. They investigated every juror. Schiff stated, "He had every right that every other criminal defendant has in that courtroom," also on Sunday's "State of the Union." This regular group of peers pronounced him guilty on all counts. Therefore, avoid committing crimes in New York if you don't want to face legal action there.
Prior to his trial, Biden was seen with his kid.
At a time when New Jersey senator Robert Menendez, a Democrat, is also on trial in New York, the GOP's assertions that the Justice Department solely targets Republicans may be refuted by the commencement of jury selection in the first-ever trial of a sitting president's kid. Hunter Biden was indicted by prosecutor David Weiss, appointed by President Trump, who was given special counsel status by Attorney General Merrick Garland to supervise the investigation last year. The president's lone surviving son is charged with breaking federal law by allegedly taking drugs or buying a gun illegally and carrying it around. He's entered a not guilty plea to all three counts.
The president has stated that his son did nothing wrong and that he has turned his life around following battles with alcohol and crack cocaine addiction, but the White House has ruled out the prospect of a pardon. Hunter Biden has the same right to a trial by a jury of his peers and the assumption of innocent as did Donald Trump. The president was spotted on a bike ride with his son on Saturday near his Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, home as a symbolic show of support.
In addition to trying to gain more political traction for their main campaign themes this week, Democrats hope to utilize Trump's conviction in their pursuit of independent and moderate voters in the swing states that determine the election. This comes after the ex-president's trial has dominated headlines since mid-April.
Democrats will aim to draw attention to the extreme Republican stances on abortion in addition to Biden's significant declaration on immigration. For example, the Texas Supreme Court's decision last week that a medical exemption to the state's new abortion ban only applies in cases where there is a risk of death or substantial physical damage is something the Democratic National Committee plans to highlight on Monday. Democrats claim the bill is the kind of thing Republicans will try to enact nationally in the event that Trump—the man who created the majority on the Supreme Court that reversed Roe v. Wade—wins a second term. Still, the former president maintains that states should have the final say over abortion laws.
Democrats prepare an onslaught on abortion
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York announced Wednesday that he will hold a vote on a "right to contraception" bill, marking another step in the Democratic offensive on reproductive rights. This comes as Democrats commemorate this month's anniversary of the Supreme Court's overturning of the nation's constitutional right to an abortion. In a letter to his Democratic caucus, Schumer stated, "Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans will not be able to outrun their anti-abortion records, because the American people know that extremist Republicans will not stop in their campaign to strip away fundamental liberties in this country."
On Sunday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries gave a sneak peek at how his party is attempting to draw attention to its own agenda while highlighting Trump's convictions and authoritarian behavior. On NBC's "Meet the Press," the New York Democrat declared, "This is America," adding that a jury had rendered a verdict that was a "affirmation of the American judicial system." We are not a system where a king, a monarch, or a dictator rules. Since we live in a democracy, everyone is subject to the law.
Additionally, Jeffries changed the focus of his campaign to a larger one, saying that Democrats will address high housing costs and pricing, which are turning off many voters from the president's economic program. Democrats would handle the issues that the majority of Americans deem significant, according to Jeffries, while Republicans were lying for Trump. "I would rather not be on the extreme MAGA Republican side, but rather on President Biden's side of that contrast," he stated.
Trump is not jumping back into the fray right away, despite his virtually daily, vehement complaints that the trial kept him off the campaign trail. Nonetheless, he is anticipated to start a fundraising tour this week, which will stop in Beverly Hills, California, on Friday, and have a rally in Nevada, a crucial battleground state, on Sunday. Trump's team focused on economic issues rather than mentioning his conviction in the press release announcing the rally. The Democratic Party's woke allies, led by weak Joe Biden, have proclaimed war on the middle class.The press statement also mentioned the high cost of gasoline and stated, "Nevadans are suffering under Bidenomics with inflation in Nevada."
Sen. Tom Cotton, who has generated interest as a possible running partner for President Trump, embraced the former president's economic speech on NBC. The Arkansas Republican declared on Sunday that "the real verdict is going to come on Election Day, and it's going to come from the American people." "It will be predicated on things like their inability to pay their rent and provide food for their children; the chaos at the border; and the ongoing wars throughout the world."
Although Trump's legal troubles dominated campaign news for months and rallied core Republican voters around the former president, the developing economic dispute between the two camps suggests that the legal issues may not ultimately determine who will lead the country after January.
