PoliticsTop StoryUS

Trump eyes comeback facing legal and political headwinds

Trump

Despite the legal and political headwinds, those around Trump describe him as unbothered, emboldened by a sense of invincibility that has allowed him to recover from devastating turns. Even if Trump does not get the 2024 nomination, many in the Republican party hope he will throw his weight into political campaigns around the country, helping to elect Republicans in key states. As reported by the AP:

Trump’s popularity among Republicans is declining somewhat, with 71% saying they have a favorable opinion compared with 78% in September 2021

CONROE, Texas (AP) — As he prepared to tee off at one of his Florida golf courses, a fellow player introduced Donald Trump as the “45th president of the United States.”

“45th and 47th,” Trump responded matter-of-factly, before hitting his drive.

FILE – Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally on Jan. 15, 2022, in Florence, Ariz. Trump is already declaring himself the 45th and 47th president of the United States. But the quip during a round of golf — captured on shaky cellphone video — belies the growing challenges Trump is confronting. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

The quip — a moment of levity on the links captured on shaky cellphone video — was a reminder that the former president often has another presidential run on his mind. But the declaration belied the growing challenges he’s confronting as a series of complex legal investigations ensnare Trump, his family, and many associates.

The probes, which are unfolding in multiple jurisdictions and consider everything from potential fraud and election interference to the role he played in the Jan. 6 insurrection, represent the most serious legal threat Trump has faced in decades of an often-litigious public life. They’re intensifying as a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found Trump’s iron grip on the GOP may be starting to loosen.

allies
FILE – President Joe Biden delivers a speech on voting rights at the National Constitution Center, on July 13, 2021, in Philadelphia. Biden often talks about how the U.S. must show democracies can deliver, but he has done little to press the case for voting rights, other than a speech in Philadelphia. The anniversary will bring this issue back to the forefront, and it remains a central challenge for the president. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

His popularity among Republicans is declining somewhat, with 71% saying they have a favorable opinion of Trump compared with 78% in a September 2020 AP-NORC/USAFacts poll. But the new poll shows only a narrow majority of Republicans — 56% — want him to run for president in 2024. The poll found that 44% of Republicans do not want Trump to run.

Despite the legal and political headwinds, those around Trump describe him as unbothered, emboldened by a sense of invincibility that has allowed him to recover from devastating turns, including two impeachments, that would have ended the careers of other politicians. He’s powering ahead and continuing to tease a comeback run for president.

“He’s in great spirits,” said Darrell Scott, an Ohio pastor and Trump ally who met with the former president this week.

Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks about abortion ahead of oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, at the National Press Club in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Trump huddled with top aides in Florida this week as he plots a midterm strategy that could serve as a springboard for future efforts. He’ll hold another campaign-style rally in Texas on Saturday ahead of the state’s March 1 elections that formally kick off the midterm primary season.

Representatives for Trump did not respond to requests for comment on the investigations or polling. In interviews and appearances, mostly on right-wing media outlets, he often boasts of his endorsement record as he aims to reward candidates who pledge loyalty to his vision of the party and parrot his election lies.

But his effort to freeze the field of Republicans eyeing the 2024 field has been uneven. Some, including former Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have so far refused to demur, making speeches, and traveling to key states that suggest they are strongly considering campaigns. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is also seen as another contender for the nomination and drew attention recently when he said that one of his biggest regrets as governor was not pushing back when Trump urged Americans to stay home in the early days of the COVID pandemic to stop the virus’s spread.

As Trump tries to move forward, so do the legal cases against him.

professors
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis flanked by Attorney General Ashley Moody and supporters addresses the media and supporters Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021 in Lakeland Fla. The state of Florida on Thursday sued President Joe Biden’s administration over its coronavirus vaccine mandate for federal contractors, opening yet another battleground between Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the White House. The lawsuit, announced by DeSantis at a news conference, alleges the president doesn’t have the authority to issue the rule and that it violates procurement law. (Calvin Knight/The Ledger via AP)

On Monday, judges in Georgia approved a request for a special grand jury by the Fulton County prosecutor who has been investigating whether Trump and others broke the law by trying to pressure Georgia officials to throw out President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has said her office received information “indicating a reasonable probability” that the election had been “subject to possible criminal disruptions.”

In New York, state Attorney General Letitia James claimed in a court filing last week that her office uncovered evidence that Trump’s company used “fraudulent or misleading” valuations of its golf clubs, skyscrapers, and other property to secure loans and tax benefits. While her lawyers said they hadn’t decided whether to bring a lawsuit in connection with the allegations, they revealed the company overstated the value of land donations made in New York and California on paperwork submitted to the IRS and misreported the size of Trump’s Manhattan penthouse, among other misleading valuations.

opioid
FILE – In this Friday, May 21, 2021, file photo, New York Attorney General Letitia James addresses a news conference at her office, in New York. In an agreement disclosed late Wednesday, July 7, 2021, in a filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, N.Y., more than a dozen states have dropped their objections to OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s reorganization plan, edging the company closer to resolving its bankruptcy case. The new settlement terms call for Purdue to make tens of millions of internal documents public, a step several attorneys general, including James, had demanded as a way to hold the company accountable. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has also been working with James’ office on a parallel criminal investigation, which resulted in charges last summer against Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, and its longtime finance chief, Allen Weisselberg.

Meanwhile, in Washington, the Jan. 6 committee investigating the violent insurrection has interviewed hundreds of witnesses, issued dozens of subpoenas, and obtained tens of thousands of pages of records, including texts, emails and phone records from people close to Trump, as well as thousands of pages of White House records that Trump fought to shield from public view. Among them: a draft executive order that proposed using Defense Department assets to seize voting machines, the committee’s chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, has said.

Supporters of President Donald Trump gather for a rally with Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, on the Ellipse near the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

A top Justice Department official said this week that prosecutors are investigating fake certificates sent to the National Archives with made-up slates of electors who wrongly declared Trump the winner in seven states he lost as part of a desperate campaign to subvert the voters’ will. Attorney General Merrick Garland has said the Justice Department remains committed to “holding all January 6th perpetrators, at any level, accountable under law, whether they were present that day or were otherwise criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy.”

As president, Trump was largely shielded from legal consequence. But no longer.

Biden
FILE – The U.S. Capitol is seen through a display of flags on the National Mall, one day after the inauguration of President Joe Biden, on Jan. 21, 2021, in Washington. Just over a year ago, millions of energized young people, women, voters of color and independents joined forces to send Joe Biden to the White House. But 12 months after he entered the Oval Office, many describe a coalition in crisis. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor in Miami, said that, until now, Trump’s legal problems have largely been relegated to “money things,” with various lawsuits seeking payouts. But he described what Trump is facing now, particularly in Georgia and Washington, as “more significant, because with those comes the potential exposure to criminal punishment.”

“If they can prove intention, knowledge, involvement in an ongoing conspiracy,” he said, “that’s potential criminal exposure, something he’s never faced before.”

But those who have worked with Trump said he and those around him are likely to continue to brush off the probes as nothing more than politically motivated “witch hunts” aimed at damaging his future political prospects. After spending so many years jumping from one crisis to the next, from the Russia investigation to inquiries about everything from his Washington hotel lease to payoffs to a former porn star, being under investigation in TrumpWorld is the norm.

press conference
FILE – President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a rally on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

For many in his circle, “It’s a badge of honor to be subpoenaed,” said Stephanie Grisham, the former White House press secretary who quit on Jan. 6 and has since penned an anti-Trump book.

“It’s easy to say, ‘It’s just another witch hunt’ because that’s what we said about everything,” she said. “People are doubling down. That’s what we do in TrumpWorld, we double down. And you just claim it’s a witch hunt, you claim it’s political theater. And that’s how you get your supporters to continue to donate money and to continue to believe they’re on the good side.”

By JILL COLVIN

Writer Hannah Fingerhut in Washington contributed to this report.

For more U.S. political news

Previous Article
Myanmar sees no peace 1 year after military takeover
Next Article
Flag Football tries for spot in 2028 Los Angeles Olympics

How useful was this article?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 0 / 5. Vote count: 0

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this article.

Latest News

Menu