The Indictment and the Ironic Non-Witch Hunt of Donald Trump
Let’s get a few things front loaded:
The indictment of Trump won’t change many minds. Everyone who’s at least somewhat interested has seen enough of Trump to see exactly what they want to see. His critics have known him to be a corrupt, self-absorbed and narrow minded buffoon. For Trump’s critics it’s clear that he’s shallow and dishonest; he has been corrupt as a business man and he has been corrupt as a politician. Trump lies, he cheats, he philanders and he acts out as a child would, with bombast and petulance. His fans know him as an iconoclastic outsider, wrapping himself up with a flag while sticking it to the political establishment, waxing about the American virtues while nuzzling dictators and giving shape to amorphous grievances. His indictment won’t change anyone’s views of him.
Trump isn’t going to jail anytime soon (unless he does something else so egregious little choice is left, which is not beyond the realm of possibility). If history is any guide to what should be expected, Trump’s lawyers will file motions, claw at every inch of legal territory and drag things out ad nauseam. For months and years, his legal vulnerabilities will slowly wind around.
Just as there are dichotomous views of Trump, so is there a dichotomy of possible outcomes. There’s the one where Trump is put on trial and, perhaps for the first time in his life, is actually held to account for his insipid schemes. He will continue to try selling himself as “totally innocent“ and cry poor me, “witch hunt” victim but at the end of the day, the justice system will call bullshit on the plausible deniability that has been his superpower; no person should be above the law and that should be exemplified in holding an ex-President to account for his bullshit. For Trump’s fans, believing him to be legitimately targeted in an unfair manner and adopting his grief around it, his prosecution is (or soon will be) the end of their faith in the republic and its legal system.
To the Trump fans we must ask: if he’s not held to account, what is the meaning and purpose of our laws? America as a nation of laws curated by balanced branches of government appointed by the people and not by authoritarian fiat is one of the principal characteristics that makes America great to begin with. This isn’t about the salacious porn star story, at all. Skirting the laws that define how vendors are paid, how government records are maintained, how taxes are paid, how loans are underwritten, how election assistance is accepted from rival foreign powers, how elections are funded, how foreign aid is dispensed and how election results are permitted to be enacted are of great consequence. For his critics, the absence of accountability will shatter their faith in the republic. This level of polarization and division is the stuff that civil wars are made of.
The investigations in Fulton County and by the Federal independent counsel may well lead to more indictments. There is no shortage of legal standing to indict Trump in those cases just based on the facts that are publicly available. However, those indictments will change few, if anyone’s, views of Trump. We’ve all seen enough and the data points that might change our minds won’t be given the time of day.
There is a deep irony layered into all of this. Much of the cynicism regarding American institutions, the establishment that Trump fans revel in seeing him smash against, is rooted in the historical absence of accountability for those who have previously occupied the Oval Office. Richard Nixon was pardoned by Gerald Ford for his Watergate scheme and the coverup that ensued. Ronald Reagan made deals with Iran to support the Nicaraguan Contras but suffered no disgrace. Bill Clinton lied about his dalliances prior to and, with Monica Lewinsky, during his presidency; he paid no penalty. George W. Bush ginned up a war in Iraq on false pretenses, that WMD dog and pony show he orchestrated, without consequence. Those darned elites, time and again, they keep getting away with all kinds of shenanigans!
On the one hand, had punitive action been taken, there would no doubt have been heightened divisions in the country. On the other hand, each episode has further eroded the public’s faith in American institutions. The people who should most want to see Trump held to account are the very people who’ve embraced him for his iconoclasm.
Now on the back end, let’s make something else clear:
There is no witch hunt. There’s no hunt at all. A hunt entails searching for something, finding it and reaping what we seek from it. We don’t need to search, Trump’s transgressions are in plain sight (whether we want to, or we are able to, see them or not is another matter). And let’s just call out how naked the emperor is: there’s not even a witch her, just a pathologically dishonest, narcissistic and toxic personality. Despite the deification by his most ardent supporters, Trump has no magic powers.
Trump needs to be held accountable for willfully flaunting the rules. If for no other reason it must be to stop further erosion of faith in the American ideal. Yes, the intensity of polarization will be aggravated but no minds are being changed by the Trump indictments anyway. And if not this time, finally, the next time will certainly be much worse and maybe the end of the American experiment altogether.
