Why the “Trump with a brain” has already lost

The leadership of the Grand Old Party (GOP) wants to get rid of Donald Trump. For example, influential Senator Mitch McConnell refused to convict the ex-president in the second impeachment trial. At the same time, however, he made it clear that he would still be held accountable for his role in storming the Capitol. “We have a criminal justice system in this country and we have civil lawsuits,” Mitchell said at the time. “Even an ex-president is not immune from being held accountable.”

Media magnate Rupert Murdoch and his star moderators at Fox News also want to get rid of Trump. This is evident from the quotes that have become known from the Dominion lawsuit. Tucker Carlson even quoted that he “passionately hates” Trump. Dominion, a maker of voting machines, has sued Fox News for libel for $1.6 billion in damages.

Fox News has therefore kept Trump’s presence on the station to a minimum since the midterm elections. Ron DeSantis was given all the space for this. The governor from Florida and “Trump with a brain” is the ex-president’s only serious challenger within the GOP.

Or rather: valid. The impeachment of Trump has completely turned the situation on its head. DeSantis, even ahead of Trump at times in some polls, fell faster than CS stock before it was acquired by UBS. The latest Fox News poll showed that more than 50 percent of Republicans want Trump as the presidential candidate. Only 24 percent support DeSantis.

McConnell’s wish for the justice system to sort it out has also not been fulfilled. On the contrary: thanks to the indictment in Manhattan, all the attention of the American media is once again on Trump. He is again, as Americans like to say, “the man who sucks up all the oxygen in a room.” Fox News also had to adapt to these new circumstances. Trump is ubiquitous again, including with Tucker Carlson.

After the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon was dropped from the GOP and faded into obscurity. His successor, Gerald Ford, pardoned him and saved him from charges. That will not be the case with Trump. First, Joe Biden doesn’t want to pardon him, and second, he can’t. Presidential pardons are only available for federal offenses in the US, but Trump faces a state court in Manhattan.

It is common knowledge that the pathological narcissist Trump has no shame. Therefore, he will not withdraw as Nixon did in the past, but, on the contrary, will seek the spotlight. The ex-president “demands full attention at all times,” Gwenda Blair, who wrote a book about the Trumps, told the New York Times. “He will use everything to his advantage, including his own costs.”

Trump has already announced that he will hold a press conference next Tuesday after his court hearing. Then he will deliver his usual crude mixture of pseudo-patriotism, self-pity and exaggeration.

He could, however, saddle himself with new legal problems. American judges are very reluctant to see defendants make public statements before trial. In this case, they impose so-called “gag orders”, or in German, gag orders. It is very likely that the ex-president will not obey.

Barbara Res, his longtime secretary, also explains in the “New York Times”: “He can’t imagine he’s wrong.” In addition, Trump is aware that he hardly has to fear the consequences for violating a gag order. “Even those who hate him probably wouldn’t think it would be a good idea to put him in jail for violating a no-talk policy,” Res said. “That’s why he won’t shut up.”

The indictment will force Republicans to rally behind Trump and convict Soros-backed prosecutor Alvin Bragg. From Speaker Kevin McCarthy to Senator Lindsey Graham, everyone did well. Governor DeSantis has even publicly announced that he would refuse to lend a hand if Trump were expelled from Florida. It won’t come to that. The ex-president travels to New York today and will appear in court tomorrow.

DeSantis missed the right time to seriously challenge Trump. In any case, he should have attacked the ex-president in the weeks following his lackluster announcement of his candidacy. Now Trump is back in control.

In addition, the governor from Florida may also be fundamentally wrong. The GOP base doesn’t want a capable manager, no “Trump with a brain”. She wants an entertainer – and in this area Trump is miles superior to stiff DeSantis.