Back in 2016, Donald Trump said he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and his supporters would still support him. In 2022 it still holds.
According to Mar-a-Lago’s search warrant, the ex-president violated the Sensitive Information Protection (Spying Act) Act.
This potential crime adds to a long list ranging from tax evasion and sexual assault to attempting to bribe election officials and inciting a violent riot against the Capitol.
It is also a new stage in the Republican Party’s descent into the abyss.
crimes without punishment
What has been the reaction of supporters of the Law and Order Party to the latest allegations, which add to Donald Trump’s heavy legal record?
According to polls, Republican support for Trump has increased by about 10 percentage points. One by one, Republicans critical of Trump are defeated in the primary, those who peddle his lies are elected, and the rest remain terrified.
Lynn Cheney, a far-right ideologist, once a rising star in the party that dared to expose the lies and misdeeds of the leader, was crushed in the Wyoming primary.
However, the mistakes accused of Trump are serious and the evidence is overwhelming.
Why this impunity?
One can imagine that if Donald Trump were caught in the act of gunning down a fellow on Fifth Avenue, his supporters would invent a thousand excuses to exonerate Trump and demand the poor guy’s skin if he got out alive.
Throughout his life, Donald Trump has avoided the consequences of his countless wrongdoings. This impunity is partly tied to the privileges of the white rich and famous, but the explanation for their political invulnerability is more murky.
Like all authoritarian populist leaders, Donald Trump knows how to manipulate the feelings of alienation among his partisan base, who have come to believe that any accusation or criticism of the self-appointed representative of the “real” people is an attack on all who identify with him .
Armed with the unshakeable grip he exerts on these millions of believers – including some millions armed to the teeth, many ready to pull the trigger –
Trump can threaten to unleash them on anyone who dares challenge his authority… and it works.
An authoritarian cult
Responding to Cheney’s unease, the ex-Republicans of the Lincoln Project concluded Tuesday: “Tonight marks the end of the Republican Party. What remains bears the name and hallmarks of the mainstream GOP, but has actually become a nationalist and authoritarian cult dedicated solely to Donald Trump. »
It was evident before, now it is inevitable. Regardless of the ex-president’s legal woes, any Republican policy actions through November 2024 will help perpetuate the unhealthy influence he wields over his party, which has become the vehicle of his authoritarian narcissism.
This vision is fortunately in the minority in the United States, but it could still prevail if the right-wing electorate insists on seeing all its opponents as dangerous extremists, if the media insists on treating the Republican Party as a “normal” party, if the Democrats fail to manage their divisions, and if the Trumpists’ assault on the electoral institutions is successful.
