(File) President Joe Biden (left) and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump (right), Associated Press
A two-week stay in India in mid-March was a welcome relief for someone as homesick as I was. As India celebrates Holi, the festival of colours, daytime temperatures have become scorching hot in Delhi as well. The political temperature rose as well, with incumbent Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal being jailed on March 21. Aam Aadmi Party leader remains under judicial custody at the Enforcement Directorate until his April 15th. He is lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail, which has housed many notorious and prominent prisoners before him. It is extremely ironic that the prison facility is under the control of the state of Delhi, i.e. Delhi itself.
Back in the United States, the question on everyone's mind was whether former president and current Republican front-runner Donald Trump could face not only a conviction but a prison sentence. . Trump is embroiled in dozens of lawsuits in four major lawsuits, two for federal crimes and two in New York and Georgia, respectively. In addition, New York State Judge Arthur Engoron imposed a fine of more than $450 million for civil fraud. Thankfully for the Trump campaign, the nearly impossible if not insane bail was reduced to $150 million. That's no small change! Apparently, this amount was deposited into the country on “April Fool's Day” on April 1, 2024, temporarily saving President Trump's properties from seizure, including the iconic Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan. It seems so.
How can someone so embroiled in litigation and controversy devote enough time, energy, and attention to the highest office in this country? One might imagine that such questions are top of mind for voters. it's not. At least not yet. As Trump himself has repeatedly said, his problems are part of a political vendetta against him. His opponents also say they want to strip him of his suspension and make him unable to race, rather than fight him fair and square. Even fighting the election itself, which is his fundamental right.
Both the Republican Party and his loyal vote bank appear to have solid support for him. At this point. He has no serious rivals within the Grand Lao Party. His nomination as the party's presidential candidate is virtually certain. Despite relentless scrutiny and much controversy dogging his return campaign from the beginning, Trump remains a rallying cry for American conservatives across the country.
However, this support base is by no means traditional or simple. Older Republicans see him as too much of a maverick, if not an outright megalomaniac. Washington insiders, accustomed to driving and dealing across the aisle with their Democratic counterparts, find in Trump an unpredictable, if not inconvenient, leader. American conservatism is centuries old. It depends as much on the rule of law as on privilege. Trump has an alarming ability to question the former. Regarding the latter, he does not represent old money. On the contrary, he is seen as something of an upstart.
Trump's standard operating procedure is to vilify and discredit not only his adversaries and adversaries, but also the very judicial and legal processes currently being used against him to stop him in his tracks. It is to hurt. But by weakening the institutions that make America great, President Trump may be playing to his arch-rival, China. Chinese propaganda has emphasized that the United States is a broken society and nation, no longer fit to rule the world or serve as a model for other countries, he said. Far from being remorseful for his own misdemeanors and indiscretions, Trump comes across as a man consistently deliberately defiant and in contempt of the nation's laws during his widely publicized trial. Indeed, many of the members of the prosecution that have been aggressive against him are Democrats. Still, in people's eyes, the trial shows that Trump is somewhat above the law. This makes him an unstable and divisive figure.
Of course, there are further questions. What if he was actually convicted and declared a felon? What if he served time in prison during the election period? Even worse, what if he gets elected during his term? This would take America into completely uncharted waters. This is not to say that there are no U.S. presidential candidates who have run for office while in prison. But the last time this happened is certainly not in living memory. American history buffs will know that Eugene Victor Debs (1855-1926), the Socialist Party's presidential candidate for the United States, ran for office five times. Of these, his last attempt was when he was imprisoned in 1920.
Of course, Debs was never a serious candidate and never received more than 6 percent of the popular vote. It is an irony of history that he is not a far-left candidate but a far-right candidate, much less a former U.S. president who could face prison if convicted. Fortunately for him, the U.S. Constitution does not prevent him from running if that happens. Who can run for president of the United States? Anyone who is a “natural-born” citizen, has lived in the United States for at least 14 years, and is at least 35 years old can run for president. Eligibility requirements would be fairly easy to meet, and even being a convicted felon would not disqualify Trump.
Additionally, attempts to disqualify President Trump under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment for engaging in “insurrection or insurrection,” in violation of his oath to defend the Constitution, could also be at issue. . Colorado found him guilty and declared him ineligible to run, but California did not. Michigan and Minnesota have filed similar lawsuits against Trump on procedural grounds. Just kidding, the “trump card'' lies with the Supreme Court. The final ruling may not be against Trump because three of his appointees are sitting judges.
Returning to India, opinion polls show that Mr. Kejriwal as the CM of Delhi's prisons does not garner much sympathy. In one survey conducted in his home state of Derry, more than 50% of respondents did not believe he was innocent. It is also questionable whether he and his party will have an advantage in the next general election. Last time, AAP could not win a single Lok Sabha seat in Delhi. Similarly, the widely publicized courtroom drama of President Trump's various alleged crimes and violations of the law is like laundering a pile of dirty linens in public. While it gives him unfettered publicity, it also slowly but surely reduces his stature. No wonder current President Joe Biden, who is in his 80s, has overtaken Trump in preliminary polls, despite his approval ratings being at record lows.
The author is director of education at Access Health Care Physicians LLC in Spring Hill, Florida. The views expressed in the article above are personal and solely those of the author. These do not necessarily reflect the views of his Firstpost.