In the Republican presidential primaries, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis are fighting tooth and nail to remain in the race. Donald Trump, on the other hand, is competing in a different campaign entirely: one that pits him against the rule of law and the courts.
On Thursday, the former president will step away from the traditional campaign path one again – for his second court appearance this week – adding another bizarre dimension to the 2024 election’s unfolding as we approach Monday’s Iowa caucuses.
That means the attention will swiftly move on from the heated debate that took place on Wednesday night on AWN between the governors of Florida and South Carolina. On Thursday, while snow blankets Iowa, the candidates will be making their rounds in the first head-to-head presidential debate, hoping to claim victory in the post-game.
Returning to the Manhattan courtroom of Judge Arthur Engoron, who may have been the most intimidating opponent for the outgoing president among his Republican opponents, is Trump. The closing arguments in the civil fraud trial that targets the Trump Organisation, Trump Jr., and his adult sons will be attended by Trump himself. He is attempting to manipulate the news by painting his legal mess as a story of political persecution, and his presence is just the latest event in this campaign. But those preparations were thwarted by Engoron, who said that Trump couldn’t have a speaking part as he hadn’t complied with the statement restrictions established by the judge.
Trump is rushing from his east coast court hearings to his caucus state, which ranks #1 in the nation: He made an appearance at a Washington appeals court hearing on Tuesday, which his legal team is attempting to use as a pretext to postpone his federal trial for tampering with the 2020 election until after the November election. In the last weekend before the caucuses, he plans to hold rallies in western Iowa. He is aiming to gain enough support to swiftly finish the primary struggle and challenge President Joe Biden.
In his primary campaign, Trump has taken a new approach.
Despite Haley, DeSantis, and other candidates’ best efforts in debates, town halls, and rallies, Trump’s ability to capitalise on his four felony indictments has been the deciding factor in the Republican primary contest.
His erratic behaviour while in government and since has been the biggest challenge that the country’s political and legal systems have faced in the contemporary period. Despite a deluge of scandals that would have deposed any traditional politician in years past, Trump continues to rule the party he revolutionised. This is a testament to his political acumen.
One example of this strategy was Trump’s decision to profit from his mug shot, which was taken at a Georgia jail following his arrest in another case involving electoral interference in the pivotal swing state. It rekindled his connection with anti-establishment GOP voters, energised his initially lacklustre bid for a second term, and left his opponents with a political dilemma they have yet to overcome: How to condemn the former president’s actions without upsetting his supporters and sympathisers.
Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey and a vocal critic of the president’s actions, excelled at the first component of the equation but failed miserably at the second. With his Wednesday announcement that he is dropping out of the campaign for president, Haley may be able to gain ground on Trump in the New Hampshire primary, which is held one week after the caucuses.
Particularly Haley and DeSantis try a different approach with Trump
Throughout the campaign, Haley and DeSantis failed to capitalise on Trump’s biggest possible general election vulnerabilities, which include his possible conviction for felonies by November and his attempt to cling to power beyond his 2020 loss.
While both candidates were cautious, they did try to capitalise on Trump’s legal mess at the Iowa debate.
Haley, who has been consistently aggressive throughout the campaign, took the lead on this subject and said something that many Trump fans would see as a political betrayal. “That particular election. Donald Trump blew it. She announced that Biden had won the election. “He claims that January 6 was a lovely day; however, I find the events of that day to have been horrific….” It will be up to President Trump to explain. When asked directly about the former president’s attempt to steal the election, Haley has frequently used euphemisms, such as “chaos,” to describe his actions.
On Tuesday, Trump’s attorneys argued in a Washington appeals court that their client was immune from prosecution for anything that happened while in office, including any interference with the election. The judges ordered both candidates to respond to this assertion. At a critical juncture in the hearing, one of the three judges convinced Trump’s lawyer to assert that a president could only face prosecution if he was impeached and found guilty by Congress before ordering SEAL Team Six to kill a political opponent.
“That’s absurd. You can’t assassinate a political opponent and then assert your innocence,” Haley remarked during the argument.
Attempting to shift the conversation away from the subject, DeSantis warned that Trump’s legal troubles could hurt him in the general election. “Clearly, that lawyer exposed the case,” the governor of Florida stated. He forecasted that Trump’s federal election interference appeal would be unsuccessful and that he would be faced with a “stacked DC jury of all Democrats…” In my opinion, he won’t be able to overcome that. DeSantis expressed concern that his predicament would undermine Republican attempts to frame the election as a vote on “the failures of Joe Biden.”
Even with the little hardening of tone, Christie—who had earlier in the day stopped his campaign and criticised other GOP candidates—was likely not appeased. Candidates who are scared to challenge Trump for fear of losing his supporters are being cowardly, according to the former governor of New Jersey. He lashed out at the “smallness of campaigns who spend more time arguing and worrying about who should get out of the race than they have spent going after the front-runner” after receiving a torrent of calls for him to step down, allowing Haley an opening to oppose Trump in New Hampshire.
The truth, even if it means losing, is preferable to lying if it means winning, Christie stated.
The one thing that Christie’s campaign demonstrated is that Republicans throughout the country aren’t ready to face the music when it comes to Trump’s legal responsibilities, the danger he seems to represent to democracy, and other unpleasant realities. Haley and DeSantis may be making a good strategic calculation, even though they don’t always have the guts to stand up to Trump.
Yet another question arises from that. How can they hope to defeat the most formidable front-runner in any competitive presidential primary in recent history if they are unable to employ every possible political assault against Trump?
Also, what gives them the idea to run?