MINNEAPOLIS — Despite facing state and federal criminal charges, former President Donald Trump remains the GOP frontrunner heading into the 2024 primaries.
Polls consistently show him with a commanding lead over his closest challenger, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, as well as the rest of a crowded field that includes U.S. Senator Tim Scott, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, and many others. Trump's pending legal troubles do not preclude him from pursuing the Republican nomination and, even if he were to be convicted, he could still run for and hold the U.S. presidency.
In fact, the Trump campaign has sought to capitalize on the attention and even raised millions after a grand jury in New York returned an indictment against him earlier this spring.
"I think, ultimately, these are really just kind of a sideshow for most Republican primary voters," said Brian McClung, a political strategist and former aide to Republican Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. "The earlier indictment actually improved Donald Trump's polling numbers and helped consolidate some Republican voters behind him."
In a sign of unusual times, several of Trump's competitors defended him against the latest federal indictment. DeSantis said "The weaponization of federal law enforcement represents a mortal threat to a free society," while Haley said "The American people are exhausted by the prosecutorial overreach, double standards, and vendetta politics." Scott, meanwhile, said, "Americans deserve to have confidence in our justice system." Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy said, if elected, he would pardon Trump.
"They recognize that a big portfolio of the Republican electorate is with Donald Trump. They're all trying to navigate separating themselves from President Trump, while not alienating or upsetting his base. And frankly, that has proven almost impossible to do," McClung said. "In a typical campaign, your opponent makes a misstep, or is indicted on a federal crime, you would go after them hard, right? You would use that as an opportunity to differentiate yourself and try to take them down. That's not at all what we're seeing in this case."
With that said, three new candidates joined the GOP field this week: former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, current North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, and former Vice President Mike Pence.
On Friday, Pence said he was "deeply troubled" by Trump's indictment but also noted that "no one is above the law," whereas Christie and Burgum indicated they would reserve judgment until more facts emerge. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a longshot candidate for the GOP nomination, issued perhaps the strongest statement by calling for Trump to "end his campaign."
"There's no shortage of Republicans who still think there's a path to victory," McClung said. "But it's really unclear, at least to me, what that path is."
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