August 6, 2023

The indictments of former President Trump are destructive to the country and symptomatic of our increasing separation. We are seeing a never-ending series of banana republic-like lawfare indictments of the candidate leading the race for the Republican nomination and in a dead heat with the probable Democrat nominee.

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Successful lawfare destroys the wealth, spirit, or support of the person under attack. Destroying President Trump’s wealth or fighting spirit was always a long shot. The goal is to destroy his support.

I suspect that a spy at Uniparty headquarters would see the beginning of a dread verging on panic. Seemingly, the plan was first to weaken President Trump’s chances before the full force of the lawfare attack was released, depressing his support. They planned to give the eventual Democrat nominee a substantial lead over Trump and thought that at least one of his challengers would surge to take his place. Successfully defeating Trump through lawfare would require depressing his support. The Uniparty cannot be happy that every new indictment leads to exactly the opposite.

Image: Jack Smith, who may have made a big mistake (edited). YouTube screen grab.

The Uniparty is creating situations that play to President Trump’s strengths. I see five distinct goodish situations developing. Some are new, and some are preexisting conditions that can be revitalized. Ironically, the same people who want to destroy Trump are creating these advantages.

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1. The indictments suck all the air out of the 24/7 news cycle until it’s over, and it will never be over.

This lawfare is designed to be constant and continuous until the election, with at least four different venues looking for a piece of the action. Expect a new revelation every day. The entire discussion will be about indictments, trials, and the inevitable DOJ leaks. This may seem bad. However, in an election cycle, if a candidate is unheard, he or she cannot build support. Once the trials start, everyone is stuck pretty much where they begin. If Governor Hair Gel enters as a reliever for Biden, the saturated news cycle will make it hard for him to build wide support outside of California and Democrat insiders.

While most challengers are virtually silenced by the trial noise, one candidate has demonstrated the skills to turn a continuous negative news cycle to his favor: Donald Trump.

2. The Trump ratchet of support is restarted.

President Trump won in 2016 because his support was on a ratchet, not a typical wave. Because of Covid and riots, the support in 2020 was less defined and more typical of politicians. The legal problems are bringing the ratchet back. The support ratchet often builds upon a floor of support that may not be enough to win the election outright in the beginning. The candidate then builds support from one committed supporter at a time. This is a supporter that is difficult to earn but also one that is difficult to lose. Support builds slowly over time, one click at a time, and never reverses.

The legal issues recreate the Trump Ratchet. Click by click, people decide that supporting the former president is a commitment they are willing to make and stick with until the end.