It goes without saying that, after Donald Trump’s bombshell 34-count guilty verdict, we are sailing in uncharted political waters. We’ve never been here before. And nobody — nobody — knows how this is all going to turn out.
There’s no doubt, however, that the Trump verdict and the Republican Party’s reaction to it, have demolished two long-held political tenets. One, oft-cited by political cynics: “There’s no real difference between the two major parties.” If that were ever true, it’s no longer the case. There’s no way the Democratic Party would ever nominate a convicted felon for president — and, even if they tried to, no way they could ever get away with it.
The second demolished tenet, proudly proclaimed since the days of Richard Nixon: The Republican Party is “the party of law and order.” Ha. Richard Nixon be damned. The party of Abraham Lincoln and Richard Nixon is now just the opposite. Under Donald Trump, it’s become the party of crime and disorder.
Whether you agree with the verdict or not, consider the facts. Donald Trump is not only the first president to refuse to accept the results of an election. He’s not only the first president to be impeached and indicted for attempting to overthrow the government. He’s now also the first president to be convicted of a federal crime: 34 of them. It’s not a political attack, it’s a fact to say: Donald Trump is a convicted felon.
We also know this is hardly Trump’s first brush with the law. He’s already lost two other cases in New York state: along with other officers of the Trump organization, found guilty of financial fraud and fined $464 million; and found liable of sexual abuse and defamation against journalist E. Jean Carroll and fined $88 million. Trump has appealed both cases.
And that’s still not the end of the road. Trump is still charged with an additional 54 felonies in three yet-to-be-scheduled cases: in Georgia, for election fraud; in Miami, for running off with and refusing to return classified presidential documents; and in Washington, for inciting the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.
There was a time, not so long ago, when neither political party would consider nominating a convicted felon for dogcatcher, let alone for president of the United States. It makes the rush of Republican leaders to condemn Trump’s guilty verdict all the more stunning. One by one, they lined up to assert that 34 felonies is no big deal. Donald Trump’s not corrupt, they insisted, it’s the justice system that’s corrupt. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) even declared Trump to be a “symbol” of those who stand up to big government — when Trump’s not a symbol of anybody except those who knowingly and deliberately break the law.
And yet, next month, the Republican Party is set to nominate for president a convicted felon who insists the entire justice system is corrupt and who, if reelected, has promised to weaponize the Justice Department against his political opponents; defund the FBI; and pardon over 1,265 supporters charged and over 460 incarcerated for crimes they committed on Jan. 6.
Seriously, out of almost 342 million Americans, couldn’t Republicans find anybody without a criminal record to run for president?
One thing for sure, this campaign is not about tax policy, the economy or the environment. There is now only one fundamental issue on the ballot: Do we believe in the rule of law or not? This election is no longer about Donald Trump. This election is now about us.
Bill Press hosts “The Bill Press Pod.” He is the author of “From the Left: A Life in the Crossfire.”