From 45th to Felon in Chief
April 13, 2023
Former President Donald Trump has always adored the color orange. However, an orange prison jumpsuit may be just outside the boundaries of his affinity for the color.
Last week, a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Trump on 34 felony accounts of falsifying business records. For the politician who once claimed Mexican immigrants were “criminals” and “rapists,” ironically he is now the one facing both felony charges and a rape defamation lawsuit scheduled to begin April 25.
His 34 felony counts stem from a white-collar crime scheme known as “catch and kill” that took place between 2015-2017. The charges claim any dirt on Trump that would have negatively influenced his chances of becoming President in 2016 was purchased and buried.
According to a statement released by Manhattan District Attorney Bragg regarding the indictment, hiding this scheme meant manufacturing dozens of false entries in business records. Additionally, this includes attempts to violate both state and federal election laws. On one occasion, $30,000 was paid to a former Trump Tower doorman, from company American Media Inc., who claimed to have a story about Trump fathering a child out of wedlock. Another regards $130,000 wired to adult film actress Stormy Daniels that was made through a shell corporation funded from a Manhattan bank.
To be clear, becoming a felon would not disqualify Trump from running for President or having a second term in office. Instead, he would join the 4.6 million Americans who are barred from voting due to a felony conviction. Perhaps Trump will empathize with his fellow felons, and make it a mission for his second Presidential term to end felony disenfranchisement.
But it seems like the Trump train could be quoting Britney Spears and screaming “Mama, I’m in love with a criminal” on their way to the polls this November. A FiveThirtyEight national poll for the Republican Presidential Primary, released on April 12, puts Trump leagues ahead of all other candidates. Trump received a whopping 49.3 percent of the national vote, with Florida governor Ron DeSantis being the closest runner-up at 26.2 percent.
Trump once notoriously claimed that he could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot someone without losing any voters. Eerily enough, it seems he could be not far off. If the polls say anything, it’s that Republicans either believe Trump’s word that he is “completely innocent” or that they don’t mind if he becomes a felon. As a politician, Trump isn’t exactly known for having a shining moral compass. Republican voters may just view this as another one of his scandals and cast their ballot for him anyways. Come November, America might have its very first felon President.