Donald Trump indicted: What does that mean and what’s next for the former US president?
CAN TRUMP STILL JOIN THE PRESIDENT IN 2024?
Trump has said that he plans to run for president in 2024.
There is nothing in the US Constitution that prevents Trump from running for president, even if he is being impeached, on trial, or convicted.
The U.S. Constitution lists only three conditions for becoming president – the person must be 35 years of age or older, be a citizen of the United States, and have lived in the United States for at least 14 years.
Earlier, Trump had told reporters he would “definitely” stay in the race for president even if he was indicted.
WHAT REACTED?
As for how it will affect his third run for the White House, it remains to be seen. Republicans unanimously denounced Trump’s indictment as a politically motivated attempt to derail his campaign, AFP reported.
Even Florida Governor Ron DeSantis – seen by some as a potential Trump opponent for the Republican nomination – called the indictment “un-American” and a “weaponization of the legal system”. the law”.
Nicholas Creel, a political analyst at the University of Georgia and State University, said Trump’s base in the “Old Party” (GOP) is “simply too trusting” to abandon him.
“Even now, we see Trump’s Republican opponents, such as former Vice President Pence, actively defending him in this scandal rather than using it to attack him for being a victim of the scandal. his interests,” he told AFP.
“This shows that Trump’s GOP opponents fully understand how his establishment has such an unwavering devotion to him, one that won’t give up anytime soon. .”
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy also criticized Bragg, the Democrat who pushed for the criminal investigation against Trump.
Detractors worry that if Trump is vindicated, it could make it easier to deliver any future indictments as a “witch hunt,” as some have called it.
On the left, figures like former White House strategist David Axelrod have described the gag money scandal as the least significant of Trump’s four criminal investigations.
There are also potential fraud and conspiracy allegations in a much more serious investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results.
And a quasi-independent federal prosecutor is overseeing historic investigations into Trump’s mishandling of classified documents and his supporters’ involvement in the 2021 uprising on the U.S. Capitol. Ky.
Amani Wells-Onyioha, a Democratic election strategist, told AFP: “Trump’s indictment could completely destroy his aspirations to be president. It should happen. But based on that With the undying support of his supporters, I don’t believe that’s going to happen.”
“In fact, I think it’s going to help him skyrocket in the polls and get his base to rally around him more.”
House Democrats also weighed in.
Nancy Pelosi, former Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, said: “No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence. Hopefully the former president will peacefully respect it. the system gave him that right.”
Ted Lieu, another House Democrat, called the indictment a “terrible precedent” but necessary if Trump commits a crime.
“It’s time for us to make sure that Trump is barred from running for any more public office,” said Jamaal Bowman, a Democrat in the House of Representatives.
