Donald Trump is the first former president to be charged with a crime.
Washington:
Donald Trump has always wanted to be the King of New York, but on Tuesday perhaps the most controversial US president in history walked into a Big Apple courtroom as a criminal defendant.
Even by the standards of a typical gaudy, attention-grabbing, tradition-breaking career, Trump’s humiliation in Manhattan marked an unprecedented low.
For a born showman who rose to fame as a playboy real estate entrepreneur, then stunned the world in 2016 by winning the presidency on a hard-hitting platform, his date with a New York state judge is a moment of supreme peril.
But because this is Trump — the man who ran for the White House boasting he could get away with shooting someone on Fifth Avenue — the drama is also incredibly kind of gifted.
Already the first former president to be charged with a crime, he’s busy campaigning to win back the presidency in 2024 and the more scandals he accumulates the more he feels able to promote his brand.
Opinion polls suggest that so far he is not wrong, making him a strong frontrunner for the Republican nomination.
– Wrecking Ball –
In doing so, Trump is leading American politics into uncharted territory.
To millions of his supporters, the 76-year-old is the man who broke the mold with his White House victory, defying political norms to champion what he dubbed the “forgotten men and women” of Middle America.
However, for much of the country, Trump left America broken.
The Republican’s first term began 2017 with a dark inaugural address of “American carnage.”
It ended in mayhem when the former entrepreneur refused to accept his defeat by Joe Biden, then incited supporters to attack Congress on January 6, 2021.
In office, Trump changed every tradition, from the trivial (what was planted in the rose garden) to the fundamental (the relationship with NATO).
And as an ex-president, his wrecking ball political presence dominated an increasingly far-right Republican Party.
Embattled in mounting legal woes, he pushed his 2020 lie more vigorously than ever — subverting his party’s midterm performance last year by supporting an army of election-denied candidates who Disappointing performance.
Then, disappointing the few remaining moderates, he announced a run for 2024.
– Teflon Don –
Will Trump survive his New York troubles or several other legal investigations are still up in the air. But he has proved time and time again that he has an uncanny ability to deceive his followers.
When the FBI searched his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida last summer to retrieve top-secret documents Trump deposited while leaving the White House, detractors thought his time should be up. .
But again, Trump defied the norm, refused to accept responsibility and insisted he was being persecuted.
He also claims that the allegations in New York related to an alleged payment to an adult film actor to keep quiet on the eve of the 2016 election are fabricated by left-wing opponents.
In a statement after his indictment was first made public, Trump used his Truth social app to complain about “political harassment and election interference at the highest level in history”.
– they laughed –
Back in 2016, many Americans literally laughed at the prospect of a Trump White House.
Yet he defeated Democratic heavyweight Hillary Clinton.
And when the Democrats launched two impeachment proceedings, the Republican Party fully supported them. He was acquitted both times.
The offstage turmoil that could sink a normal presidential run only fueled Trump’s message of grievance.
Journalists became “enemies of the people”. The intelligence services and the FBI were characterized as the “Deep State”. Opponents in Congress were variously labeled “mad” and traitors.
It was the same story on the world stage as well. Trump has turned American alliances into cutthroat business relationships.
Friendly partners such as South Korea and Germany were accused of attempting to “rip us off”.
In contrast, Trump has repeatedly declared respect for the likes of Russian President Vladimir Putin or North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, with whom he said “we fell in love.”
– Unbridled Flow –
Prior to 2016, Trump was mostly famous for the ruthless character he played on the reality TV show “The Apprentice”, for developing luxury buildings and golf resorts, and for his former fashion-model wife, Melania.
But academics see parallels between Trump’s development as a politician and that of autocrats in countries where democratic institutions exist only as facades, allowing populist showmen to assume power.
He mocked the controversy, joking – possibly – about changing the constitution to remain in power indefinitely. “It drives them crazy,” he said.
But as the Covid tragedy escalated, Trump looked inept, giving Biden a chance. The Democrat’s old-school manner and calm centrist message propelled him to a comfortable majority.
It was then, when defeat became clear, that Trump did the unthinkable by refusing to concede again.
Now he’s trying to break that precedent once again – running for president as an alleged criminal.
But if Tuesday’s case ends up going to trial, the tireless quest for the crown may depend not on self-described “geniuses” but people who regularly see her from across the court: 12 stories of ordinary New Yorkers. Jury.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)