By George I. Gonzalez | MIT Sloan | May 31, 2024 | Photo Courtesy of Nicholas Kamm| Translated by Google Translate
Ladies and gentlemen, we officially have the presidential race of: the “corrupt” Joe Biden against “the convicted criminal” Donald Trump .
That will be the narrative that will dominate the ads and political attacks of both candidates before the November 5 elections .
There will be those who argue that the verdict in the first case against former President Trump (convicted of falsifying documents to cover up secret payments from his campaign fund to an adult actress) is a triumph for the legal system , but the reality is that it is one day sad for democracy.
In the United States there is a standard of values and image that a president should have.
That does not mean that they have no faults or, even, that they have not previously committed a crime.
But to think that a criminal convicted of a serious crime would be the presidential candidate of the Republican Party and that he could be president again is truly unusual. I highlight the Republican Party because the theme of “order and justice” is a large part of its identity.
A country of contrasts
The United States is a totally divided country. Extremism, bigotry, partisan politics, and the insistence on consuming news through the echo chamber are what make this possible.
In the coming days there will be polls that will try to sell the idea that former President Trump lost popularity because of the verdict or that President Biden gained percentage points in states crucial to the election because of it. But it won't be true, it's "fake news" .
We must take into account that the phrase "the impeachment of Donald Trump" is one that has been dominant in popular culture since 2019, when the House of Representatives voted in favor of the impeachment of President Trump for abuse of power and obstruction congressional.
In January 2021, Congress voted again in favor of impeachment, but this time for inciting the famous January 6 insurrection. On both occasions, the Senate (controlled by the Republican Party) acquitted him.
If we take into account that the judicial process of this and three other pending cases began in 2021, the American people have been listening hard for more than five years to the effects of Trump's “impeachment trials ,” and yet his popularity remains . This verdict only fuels his supporters more.
This is the fault of the Democratic Party itself. Not because they have done wrong by denouncing or prosecuting Trump, but because "impeachments" have been their great point of focus.
Turn the judicial system into a weapon ?
The Democratic Party has also failed to promote its own policies or the economic impact they have had – the economy avoided a recession, unemployment is at its lowest level in nearly 50 years, the Dow Jones Industrial Average set a new high historic this month.
Of course, Biden uses these points in all his speeches, but I am referring to the echo chamber and what partisan political commentators promote.
Their success and victories are marked by how much they can make Trump's life miserable and not by the party's achievements . Take, for example, the case of my future senator, Adam Schiff.
The first pamphlet I received from his campaign said that he was proud to have been the lawyer who led the first congressional impeachment case against Trump.
In a Democratic state like California that's a big endorsement, but for voters in the states that will actually decide this election, it means nothing.
“They are turning the judicial system into a weapon”
This is the main argument of the former president's supporters, and when you think that there are still three more cases to be resolved – two federal cases of intervention in the elections and one for possessing confidential documents – it is easy to see how that argument will not lose its relevance.
In the end, the only one who decides is the people…
This election, very similar to what will happen in Mexico this Sunday , will be an election based on populism and the mobilization of voters from each party.
Trying to convince someone to change their vote or influence independent voters does not exist and is a huge waste of time.
People already know who they are going to vote for and nothing will change their minds, not even if their candidate is a convicted criminal.
Both Biden and Trump emphasized this in their statements after the former president was found guilty at trial:
“The true jury will be the American people and they will give their verdict on November 5 at the polls.”
