How long does it take to teach an old dog new tricks? Once again, I write that America may be waking up to who Trump is. I hear Ronald Reagan muttering from his grave, “There he goes again,” but I like to think that Reagan would agree with me that a convicted felon does not belong in the White House.
In the past, the Billy Bush Access Hollywood tape, boorish behavior, racist comments and actions, and a lot more convinced me candidate Trump was finished. This time, it is Trump’s 34 felony counts that convinces me that his reign of terror may be over.
A new poll, out this week, surprisingly suggests that Trump remains ahead of Biden, but that Biden’s favorability ratings continue to improve while Trump’s ratings decline. Whether Trump’s drop in favorability is solely because of his felonies is unclear. Trump continues to focus on his legal problems at campaign rallies. He also continues to make bizarre comments about sharks, electric cars, and a lot more.
Trump railed against a contractor who supplied teleprompters at a Las Vegas campaign rally held in 100-degree heat, suggesting that their work was “sh*tty.” When several attendees needed medical help because of the heat, Trump lamented that there was not enough concern about him. He also told the audience that January 6 was a “set-up” and that the insurrectionists were victims.
Trump’s continuing mental decline may yet be what costs him the election, but Democrats are focusing on the ex-president’s criminal record. They have been quick to resurrect Donald Trump’s 2016 comments where he told voters a candidate under criminal indictment should not be allowed to run for president. In 2016, Trump told attendees at a Reno, Nevada, campaign rally: “Folks, folks, folks, she shouldn’t be allowed to run. If she were to win this election, it would create an unprecedented constitutional crisis. In that situation, we could very well have a sitting president under felony indictment and, ultimately, a criminal trial. It would grind the government to a halt.”
Trump added, “Her current scandals and controversies will continue throughout her presidency and will make it virtually impossible for her to govern and lead our country.”
Hillary Clinton, of course, was not under indictment, but Trump’s message helped taint Clinton and rally his base. The statement is also an example of a rarity: Trump was telling the truth. He was right–a candidate who faces criminal charges (let along having been convicted of them) should not be president.
Trump’s legal problems are not limited to the “hush money” felonies. He also has been labeled a rapist by a New York judge and fined millions of dollars for business fraud and for defaming Ms. Carroll.
Importantly, there are many reasons why Trump should not be returned to the White House that have nothing to do with the ex-president’s convictions, indictments, and judgments. His policy positions, threats of retribution against his political opponents and persecutors, racism, and declining mental ability are enough. But ask any Trump supporter if they still intend to vote for Trump, and most will respond yes. That is why Democrats are focusing on the convictions. As James Carville once said, “Keep it simple, stupid.”
While a criminal conviction is an obvious disqualification for the presidency for me and many of us, it may take a special effort to convince Trump supporters to change their minds. One 2020 Trump voter I spoke to last week responded to my question of whether a felon belonged in the White House by updating me on the Hunter Biden trial. Did I know about Hunter Biden’s crimes? Trumpers like first names, Hunter Biden is always “Hunter” just as Hillary was always “Hillary” or “Crooked Hillary.” The Trumper ignored my response that pointed out that Hunter is not running for president.
Recently, a group of anti-Trump Republicans posted billboards in Arizona depicting Republicans who “won’t vote for a convicted felon.” I expect the billboards will cost Trump some votes. Who wants to admit they want a criminal in the White House?
Not every Trump supporter will see the billboards, but television ads, social media posts, and references in campaign speeches will follow. Direct testimonials from fellow Republicans who will not vote for a convicted felon will cost Trump votes.
Will Biden’s emphasizing Trump’s criminal convictions be enough for Biden to win? That remains to be seen. Trump fights fire with fire, so expect him to respond to efforts to undermine his candidacy by attacking Biden. Thus, we will hear more about Hunter Biden’s guilty verdict and Joe’s cognitive decline. We will also be reminded that if a re-elected President Biden dies in office, Kamala Harris will be president.
I plan to continue to write about Trump’s convictions. If you pour enough water on a duck’s back, some of it will stick. I really do not care if Trump goes to jail. I am not interested in retribution. I want him out of the White House. I am okay if he lives out his days cheating at golf, railing against Democrats, and predicting an economic collapse caused by another election being stolen from him.
J.E. Dean is a retired attorney and public affairs consultant. He writes on politics, government, and, too infrequently, other subjects.
Chris Gordon says
John, you list many of the multitude of reasons that Trump should never be allowed in the White House or anywhere else in government. But I do have a small objection. Perhaps it’s on an objection to the headline. (I don’t know if you craft the headlines to your Spy columns.)
I would place Trumps felony convictions at the very bottom of all the reasons he is unfit. In fact, to answer the question in the headline, yes I can imagine that I might be able to vote for a convicted felon for the presidency. I don’t know who that might be since Eugene Debs is no longer around.
John Dean says
Thank you for an interesting comment. I do craft my headlines for my columns.
I politely disagree with you on whether a felony conviction should disqualify a candidate from the presidency. If a candidate I fully agree with were convicted of a felony, I would not vote for them.
Chris Gordon says
Ah, I think I see the source of our rare disagreement. Perhaps you were only considering recent convictions. I was imagining someone who had been convicted, rightly or wrongly, in the distant past. Whatever the case, I respect and appreciate you and your essays. Thanks for all your contributions.
Bob Moores says
Thomas B. Edsall has a Guest Essay in the New York Times today titled “Trump Would Be Long Gone if Only We Could…”
I selected the following excerpts which may help the traditionally rational/ethical understand Trump’s appeal:
Trump represents a shock to the system. His supporters don’t hold him to the same ethical standards. He’s the antihero, the Soprano, the “Breaking Bad,” the guy who does bad things, who is a bad guy but does them on behalf of the people he represents.
Kabir Khanna, deputy director of elections and data analytics for CBS News, wrote: One of the major hurdles facing Democrats is that a sizable chunk of voters who don’t like the way Trump handles himself personally are backing him anyway, and it’s primarily to oppose Biden.
Regarding a recent CBS poll: They [Trump supporters] give Trump very high marks on a series of descriptors, including “tough,” “effective,” “energetic,” “focused” and “competent” — each is selected by at least eight in 10, with “compassionate” being the only adjective we tested on which he’s underwater. And eight in 10 say he fights for people like them.
Trump’s supporters see his unscrupulous and nefarious character, openly on exhibit, as a strength, not a liability.
Adam Parkhomenko, a Democratic political strategist, wrote in Los Angeles magazine this week: Trump, like aspiring authoritarians before him, is fostering a national environment in which his self-first vision of governance can be achieved. He is conditioning and reconditioning Americans to tolerate central tenets of authoritarianism. Sadly, the sinister strategy is thus far working.
Trump is regarding by many as “the least bad choice.”
Deirdre LaMotte says
A large reason is they are getting news from the far right Sinclair, who owns affiliates throughout the
country. They are actually worse and more insidious than Fox. Trump’s rambling “speech” a few days ago
was so embarrassing that Fox did not cover it. His mind is seriously declining, I am not referring to stuttering or scoliosis that Biden has. I am saying Trump is mentally unfit in every way including his
mental acuity, which has progressed.
He is still a small, mean person who needs to tear down everyone who disagrees with him.
Sorry, there is no way he should lead anything, particularly a nation.
John Dean says
Bob, thank you for an interesting, substantive comment. Lots of information worth thinking about. Thank you for it.
Gren Whitman says
This Spy reader does not view America’s choice for our next president as difficult:
• CHOICE A: The incumbent presidential candidate — a Democrat — has developed government programs so popular with many Americans that Republicans in Congress try to take credit even though they voted against them. HEALTH NOTE: CHOICE A supports a woman’s right to full reproductive health services regardless of her zip code.
• CHOICE B: Challenging the incumbent is a convicted felon facing three additional criminal indictments. He’s been convicted of sexual assault, massive business fraud, and libel. He’s a proven chaos agent and a serial liar, and after one term as president, he lost badly to CHOICE A in 2020. CHOICE B’s principal motivations for seeking a return to high office are, in his own words, “revenge” and “retribution.” HEALTH NOTE: CHOICE B says state governments should define and manage women’s reproductive health. Or not.
• And BTW, Politico reports CHOICE B’s liquor licenses in New Jersey are being reviewed after his felony conviction.
Deirdre LaMotte says
I love this from David Sadaris in The New Yorker:
THE NEW YORKER
To put them in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. “Can I interest you in the chicken?” she asks. “Or would you prefer the platter of s##t with bits of broken glass in it?”
To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked.
David Sedaris.
John Dean says
Gren, first, thank you for being a Spy reader.
Second, thank you for a great comment. I think you distill the choice voters will face in November very nicely.
Third. I did not know the liquor licenses are being reviewed in New Jersey. Thank you for informing me of that.
Patty Heaps says
Would I vote for a convicted felon? That depends.
I will vote for the candidate who will secure the southern border, stopping the flow of unvetted illegals into this country rather than giving them amnesty. Most Americans are done pretending that the millions let into this country are “refugees”. In the same way that the drug scourge has eventually touched everyone in some way, so will the scourge of illegals. I’ve already had my moment with the murder of Rachel Morin by an illegal, the mother of two children who attended the elementary school where I worked. How many “isolated” incidents can there be before they aren’t isolated anymore?
I will vote for the candidate who will bring back energy independence for the country, not the one who destroyed that his first day in office, draining our reserve and making us dependent on foreign sources for oil. I’ll vote for a candidate who sees the absurdity of an all electric future when I have my utility company asking me to not run appliances during daylight hours.
I will vote for the candidate who sees the Green New Deal for what it is and that more taxes and money aren’t the answer.
I will vote for the candidate whose policies won’t cost me over $900 a month more than 4 years ago.
I will vote for the candidate who won’t spend 40% of his time on vacation with no visitor logs.
I will vote for an administration that realizes that DEI is not helping anything , that not every alphabet group needs to be the focus and that maybe diversity isn’t our strength in all areas.
I will vote for the candidate who is not afraid to do press conferences for hours rather than one who walks away with a derisive sneer or has the press removed like compliant sheep.
If it’s a choice between a convicted felon or a man who raised a convicted felon, there’s no question.
Deirdre LaMotte says
We’re witnessing a war on sanity, but it’s a given considering the GOP is in the pocket of religious extremists. Let them bow to and burn from their vengeful god, as long as it doesn’t affect the rest of society, which it has and may continue to do.
What country am I a citizen of? Iran? Saudi Arabia?
And to all Republicans: Stop sticking your noses into every woman’s uterus. You disgust me and most all of sentient America.
You are the same group that tried to force a 10 year old victim of rape to have the rapist child.
Disgusting to the core.