It’s been just over 24 hours since former and potentially future President Donald Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury in a case led by progressive District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Trump’s other nominees who have already filed, Vivek Ramaswamy and former Governor Nikki Haley (R-SC) condemned the unprecedented indictment, as did the entire slate of other likely 2024 presidential candidates.
Most noteworthy is the likely candidate’s answer, for a number of reasons, from Gov. Ron DeSantis (Florida). Not only is DeSantis almost certainly running for president, but he is also the sitting governor of Florida, where Trump currently resides.
DeSantis not only explained that “Florida will not assist in filing an extradition request given the questionable circumstances surrounding the Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda,” but also hinted at Bragg’s soft-on-crime policy and how it has also been politicized in terms of what crimes Bragg chooses to charge and what crimes he does not choose to charge.
However, DeSantis’ statement was still not enough for some who could not ignore the fact that Trump was not mentioned by name.
But what will voters think?
Polls so far have overwhelmingly shown that the Republican primary favors Trump over DeSantis. Will this change as polls are conducted now that the indictment has been filed? We’ll see. This may actually support Trump as voters recognize his political crusade and unprecedented action in impeaching a former president. Trump was certainly quick to respond, with Katie highlighting his statement and countless emails sent raising funds in one way or another.
Friday morning analysis from FiveThirtyEight considered scenarios about whether an indictment would hurt, support, or make no difference to Trump, with an indictment helping him be a “distinct possibility in the primaries” because Trump “could experience a surge in the polls similar to rally around the flag effect This is what presidents sometimes experience when the nation is at risk – except Trump himself is at risk.”
“Another reason politicians often experience rally around the flag effect in times of crisis: their political opponents remain silent and stop criticizing them. It appears that this is already happening with Trump” – this effect is mentioned later in the analysis.
What was not mentioned is that these potential and actual opponents are gathering because pressing charges is a political move.
Americans feel the same and this is reflected in Ipsos/Reuters poll showing that 75 percent of Republicans agree, including 51 percent who say they “strongly” agree that “some members of the Democratic Party and law enforcement are working to delegitimize former President Donald Trump through politically motivated investigations.” Overall, respondents agree with this statement by 50-32%.
Madeline also shared how in the same poll, 54 percent of respondents, including 80 percent of Republicans and 32 percent of Democrats, considered the allegations to be “politically motivated.”
The poll was conducted on March 20-21 among a sample of 1,003 adults, and the credibility interval was plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.
The benefit of announcing early, as Trump certainly did, is the ability to gain support, as he did from Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who is also the chairwoman of the House Republican Caucus; Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), whom Trump endorsed last April and led to victory in the Ohio Senate primary; and Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), who is running to replace retiring Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) and who also has Trump’s endorsement.
Everyone shared their thoughts in one way or another, and Stefanik made a particularly powerful statement.
The Trump campaign sent an email with the underline radio interview what Banks did with Tony Katz, how he supported Trump when he talked about “another example of how far the left will go to weaponize the government and its power against political enemies.”
Banks went on to say that “what sets him apart about Donald Trump is that ‘this man doesn’t back down’ and ‘that’s why I support Donald Trump, he’s not backing down and he’s not going to back down on this issue, he’s going to fight, and that’s just the beginning. “I’m thinking about the next chapter where Donald Trump comes back and finally comes back to the top.”
As word spread, Banks also tweeted about the indictment.
Townhall has reached out to the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), and the ramifications of these Senate races will be the subject of a future article. The 2024 Senate map looks particularly good for Republicans, after 2022, in which Democrats actually increased their majority in the chamber by 1 seat.
While 2022 was disappointing, it was always going to be an uphill battle given the number of seats needed for re-election. By 2024, Republicans will have the potential to flip seats in Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wisconsin. IN his analysis for The Hill in January, Max Greenwood suggested that “Democrats have little opportunity to go on the offensive” and that “their best targets appear to be Florida and Texas, but both states have proven elusive for Democrats in recent years.”
Florida and Texas? Good luck. And these look like them the best chances.
The NRSC is also chaired by Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), who won re-election by 10 points over Democrat Steve Bullock in 2020 and appears ready for the job.
It’s entirely possible, even if you believe the polls showing his support, that Trump will also be on the ballot, which makes the case all the more fascinating and consequential given his indictment.
