It’s not a secret that Donald Trump is facing some serious legal problems. The former president has already been indicted once, and with multiple criminal investigations still ongoing, no one would be especially surprised if more charges soon follow.
What’s more, there are a variety of civil cases pending against the Republican, including the sweeping case brought by the New York Attorney General’s Office, several lawsuits filed by police officers injured during the Jan. 6 attack, and the cases brought by E. Jean Carroll.
With this in mind, on CNN’s “State of the Union” yesterday, host Dana Bash asked Rep. Ken Buck a good question: “Would Republicans be better off with a candidate who is not facing multiple criminal investigations?” The Colorado Republican replied:
“You know, it’s interesting. I think that the multiple investigations and civil lawsuits that have been brought almost give this presidential candidate and former president credibility. You keep saying that ‘the world is against him’ because he’s trying to make these changes.”
In other words, to hear the far-right congressman tell it, Trump isn’t facing legal liabilities because of his own actions; he’s facing troubles because he’s pursuing “changes,” which in Buck’s thesis, sparked a backlash from multiple prosecutors across multiple jurisdictions.
This, according to the GOP lawmaker, gives the former president “credibility.”
It’s an odd perspective, but it might very well capture the feelings of much of the Republican Party’s base.
When Trump was indicted in late March, there was considerable speculation about the possible political and electoral impacts. Would the GOP finally take this opportunity to cut the former president loose, or would the party rally behind him, indifferent to culpability? I didn’t publish any guesses, since the truth would soon come into focus.
And it has. Looking at the Real Clear Politics polling averages in the race for the Republican nomination, it’s clear that Trump enjoyed a steady advantage over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the first few months of 2023, but the former president’s lead started expanding rapidly in the first week in April.
Trump was indicted on March 30.
To be sure, the Florida governor didn’t do himself any favors with a series of avoidable missteps, but it hardly seems like a coincidence that Trump’s advantage grew dramatically as his legal standing deteriorated.
Or put another way, Buck might well have been correct when he said “the multiple investigations and civil lawsuits that have been brought almost give this presidential candidate and former president credibility.”
Of course, a related question soon follows: What does it say about the contemporary Republican Party that a scandal-plagued, twice-impeached, defeated former president looks better to GOP voters as prosecutors start to hold him accountable for his alleged crimes?