Okay, so yesterday, I posted about how Donald Trump became the first president in history to actually become a convicted criminal. He was found guilty on not one, or two, or even half of what he had been charged with. Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts.
To me, what this means is obvious: Trump is finally finding accountability for his actions. For an incredibly long time - ridiculously long, long enough to have made a literal career of it - Trump has mastered manipulating people and situations in his favor. To those ends, he has broken the law countless times throughout his business and political career. He thrived on getting away with it. In fact, I think that is part of the mass appeal among his loyal supporters.
But that level of apparent immunity finally appears to be ending. Little by little, he is finally being held accountable for his actions. Finally, he is not only being charged with crimes, but is also actually being convicted of crimes for which he is definitely guilty.
Of course, there have been reactions. Like almost all of us reading this, I have seen the reactions on social media since it happened yesterday. Many people are rejoicing. Still, I maintain that celebrating the downfall of Donald Trump has been done before, and it proved to be premature. And I have my suspicions about this being "the end" of Trump as well, for that matter. Whatever you think of Trump, if he indeed has a genius, it is in self-preservation. Yes, I think that he might survive this, and still has a chance at reaching the White House. In fact, it still is difficult to tell just how this will impact the upcoming election. Many people simply assume that this will hurt his chances. And while I sure hope so, to me it seems like yet another example of his detractors jumping on any and every opportunity to proclaim Trump politically dead. Yes, it was premature before, and I think that it is premature to assume such a thing now.
Now, I saw some of his supporters protesting. One of them showed a picture of Bill Clinton, and basically suggesting that it was okay for Clinton to do it, but not Trump. While I will grant that my own opinion on Clinton and accountability has changed - yes, I suspect that Clinton was guilty of obstruction of justice and should have indeed been held accountable - this is a very different case. What I felt about the Republican stance back then has not changed, because that was far more of a political witch hunt than anything that Trump claims today. Clinton was well known to have a fondness for women, and he got caught. Many times, in fact, he got caught. And he did what any married man would do: he lied. The Republicans pounced on this, and tried to get as much sleaze out of that story as humanly possible, to try and throw dirt on Clinton.
By contrast, this trial was about more than just Trump having an affair and lying about it. Remember, this was about him falsifying business records. Fraud, in other words. The whole Stormy Daniels and the hush money paid to her thing simply served as an illustration of a much larger pattern of behavior. And remember, after a trial that lasted over a month, and with all of the evidence and arguments from both sides, Trump was found guilty of all 34 charges. In short, he did this to himself.
That's the thing about Trump. He does these things to himself. A lot of his supporters are angry and apparently hurt - this from the Fuck Your Feelings! crowd - that Trump has so many enemies. But when you act in as divisive a manner as Trump (and his Cult 45 following), what can you expect? Do you think that people are going to respect a man who makes a mockery of every institution that he touches? Did you really believe that this guy would have forever immunity from the consequences of his own actions, forever and ever, and on all levels across the board?
So frankly, to those Trump loyalists who are acting so damned outraged right now, I repeat their own sentiment: Fuck Your Feelings!
Meanwhile, however, I would caution people against prematurely celebrating this as, finally, the end of Donald Trump. We'll see how it goes with conviction, and whether or not he actually has to serve time in jail. I sure hope so, or this trial will not have meant much, frankly. Also, let's remember that the United States right now is, politically, very immature and idiotic. It is not beyond the power of imagination to think it possible that even now that he has become a convicted criminal, that Trump could win the upcoming election. Trust me, I hate saying that or feeling that way, but things have just grown so ridiculous, that to me, it hardly seems unthinkable to believe that many, if not almost all, Trump supporters will remain as loyal as ever, or that undecided voters (still have a tough time understanding how anyone can still be undecided at this point) might still be swayed by Trump's notorious mastery of manipulation.
We shall see what happens.
LIVE: Donald Trump guilty on all counts in historic criminal trial NOW PLAYINGNOW PLAYING VIDEO FORMER PRESIDENT GUILTY IN HISTORIC TRIAL FROM BBC NEWSFormer President Guilty In Historic TrialBBC News 21,205 21,205 viewing this page With Kayla Epstein, Madeline Halpert, Gary O'Donoghue, and Nada Tawfik reporting from court in New York, BBC News, 30 May, 2024:
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-us-canada-69069142
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