Next week, in the New Hampshire primary, Donald Trump will announce a two-pronged plan to secure a second major electoral victory and, by extension, put an end to the GOP nomination fight.
Anxieties over his legal issues are becoming more of a focal point as the former president steps up his efforts to mobilise his most ardent fans. And he’s ratcheting up the pressure on his chief opponent in the state, Nikki Haley, who was once a member of his cabinet and has her best chance of winning an early contest against her boss and extending the race there.
Just five days before the primary, Trump made it clear in a New Hampshire campaign rally that his presidential campaign and his legal defence are intertwined in his abrupt transition from a Manhattan courtroom.
To begin, the ex-president willingly appeared before a New York court to confront E. Jean Carroll, the writer who a civil jury had previously found guilty of sexually abusing him. In a new trial to establish the amount of damages he will pay for defaming her, Carroll gave evidence for the first time in front of Trump on Wednesday.
In defiance of courtroom protocol, the ex-president blasted Judge Lewis Kaplan, calling him a “Trump-hating guy” and engaging in public shaming. He has had multiple confrontations with judges over his cases, the most recent of which was when Kaplan threatened to remove him due to his aggressive behaviour.
He went back to the state where, just the day before, he had called Haley by her birth name—a reflection of her South Asian background—as he left the courthouse. It seems like this is Trump’s most recent attempt to politicise political assaults by bringing up race. The former president has also called Haley a “birdbrain.” Haley is seeking to make history by becoming the first female Republican presidential nominee.
His style of conduct, which includes his histrionics, would have put an end to any traditional political career had he continued it. His antics have cast doubt on whether the GOP front-runner can win over moderates in the general election, particularly critical suburban women voters who have grown tired of him and his party in previous elections. This is despite the fact that they may not offend his most ardent supporters. The fact that Trump says what’s on his mind without worrying about being politically correct is, however, a big part of his attraction for those voters who view him as genuine.
A political gambit disguised as a legal strategy
Attending the Carroll case in person is an example of Trump’s strategy to rally Republicans around a narrative of political persecution, which he hopes will help him drown out his GOP opponents and set the stage for a possible general election showdown with Joe Biden.
His actions in court demonstrated his deep-seated disdain for the judicial system. In order to attend his mother-in-law’s funeral, Trump accused Kaplan of being cold-hearted for refusing to halt the trial. As the judge pointed out, however, Trump’s presence is not mandatory at these proceedings. He made a big public spectacle of the situation on Wednesday night, and then he announced on Truth Social that he would be attending the burial in Florida nonetheless.
The second issue revolves around Trump’s use of Haley’s given name, which brings to mind his repeated use of Obama’s middle name, “Hussein,” which again suggested racial prejudice and the possibility that the 44th president was not American and so could not have served. Over the years, Trump has catered to his most extreme right-wing supporters by using racial insinuations in his speeches. Haley was born in South Carolina to parents who immigrated from India. She is a naturalised citizen.
Last night, Trump had a tantrum about me, and I know it. Haley made the statement on Wednesday in Rochester, New Hampshire, after hearing it. The ads you see, I’ve seen them. She continued, “I will always tell you the truth,” before attempting to explain her stance on Social Security and the border.
Trump is putting the tough persona that the ex-governor of South Carolina has built around her candidature to the test with his statements and deeds. “No one ever questions my toughness,” Haley told AWN’s Dana Bash in an interview on Sunday, adding that this is true for everyone who has ever worked for or with her. However, Haley has only made subtle criticisms of Trump’s assault on democracy, election fraud allegations, and turbulent presidency. According to Haley, “Rightly or wrongly, chaos follows him” in nearly all of her campaign events. Although she has levelled accusations of Trump’s dishonesty at her, she has been cautious to criticise his inappropriate actions in order not to upset his fans.
After giving a somewhat gracious speech Monday night to celebrate his victory in the Iowa caucuses, the former president’s most recent extreme behaviour followed. His hasty reversion to hate speech demonstrated once again that he is unreliable and unchangeable, even in 2024 when his campaign was significantly more organised and competent.
The norms of conduct for a presidential candidate and head of state were long ago destroyed by Trump. Thus, people’s views of his character will most likely remain unchanged despite recent events. And in 2024, when many Americans are still reeling from high interest rates and food costs and don’t see the economic rebound that Biden promises, Trump’s alleged character flaws might not be the deciding factor.
A potent weapon in Trump’s political arsenal is the widespread conviction among Republicans that he is only reacting to what he perceives as unfair treatment. His supporters often choose to ignore or agree with such outrageous behaviour. In addition to his hatred for systems he claims are biassed against them, his readiness to say things other candidates might find indecent is an important component of his appeal to base voters.
One example of Trump’s ability to change reality is his success in persuading millions of Republicans that an impartial election in 2020 was stolen. On Monday night, during the Iowa caucuses, entrance polls revealed that most people do not believe Biden was elected lawfully and would still support the former president if he were to be found guilty of a crime.
Utah Senator Mitt Romney, who ran for president in 2012 as the Republican Party’s nominee, voiced his confusion on Wednesday over the ways in which the GOP front-runner had changed the party’s ideology. Romney, who is not seeking reelection next year, told AWN’s Manu Raju, “I think a lot of people in this country are out of touch with reality and will accept anything Donald Trump tells (them).” AWN ran the interview. “Man, I just don’t get a lot of what the modern voter is all about.”
Throughout the trial
All day long, Trump was in court as Carroll testified in a case that would determine the amount he must pay her for her defamatory claims. This happened before he returned to New Hampshire.
A jury convicted Trump guilty of violence for sexually abusing her and defamed her in the first trial that took place last year. The jury also gave her $5 million for remarks he made in 2022. Carroll failed to establish he raped her, according to the jury. This defamation trial is restricted to damages, according to Kaplan, because that ruling will transfer over to it, even if it concerns remarks Trump made while president in 2019.
“It ended the world that I had been living in,” Carroll added, referring to claims made by Trump in 2019, when he accused Trump of being dishonest 26 times in three days. According to Trump, he was unaware of Carroll’s identity until she accused him of rape in a high-end department shop in 1996. He has consistently denied any involvement in all of the accusations against him.
Kaplan threatened to have Trump removed from the courtroom when Carroll’s attorney voiced concerns that Trump might have said things like “it’s a witch hunt” or “it really is a con job” while testifying. Adding, “I would love it,” Trump added.
“I am confident that you would,” Kaplan added. “It seems like you’re just unable to rein yourself in this situation.”
In an interview with AWN’s Erin Burnett on Wednesday, Trump’s former White House lawyer Ty Cobb said that the ex-president is not officially involved in the trial and that he intended to utilise it for personal gain. For Cobb, “he’s just there for the show and the free publicity” was the golden rule. “Trump had never been worse than this.”
There is mounting evidence that the ex-president is enjoying privileges that other Americans who act in such a way before a judge do not normally have access to, even though these claims have been central to his 2024 campaign.
Trump seems to hold the view that the laws that govern other Americans do not limit him, which is in line with his approach. For example, he is claiming that former presidents enjoy complete immunity for whatever conduct done while in office in an appeal of his federal lawsuit involving election involvement. Also, he has disregarded Judge Arthur Engoron’s authority throughout his Manhattan civil fraud trial.
It seems like Trump is continually testing the boundaries of proper conduct.
“Judges will often give parties a few warnings before holding them in contempt,” explained Elliot Williams, a legal analyst for AWN. “Because even the most notorious defendants have a constitutional right to speak freely.”
Putting that aside, the former president’s legal acquittals are quite astounding. He has truly gone to the limit, even though he is a candidate for office and thus has a lot more leeway than the average person.
