Donald Trump has been officially indicted on Thursday. He will have to surrender himself to authorities. Can he still run for president?
For the first time in American history, a current or former president has been indicted on Thursday. Donald Trump faces criminal charges after the New York Grand Jury’s decision and will have to surrender himself to authorities.
According to American news outlets, New York and Florida authorities have both confirmed they will try to make the process as calm as possible. Given the extreme delicacy of the subject involved, Trump will not be submitted to any routine process other than the necessary ones.
His mugshots and fingerprints will be taken and he will be read his list of rights. New York authorities will likely avoid showing him to the press and instead escorting him privately to a detention center.
Trump’s charges involve his allegedly illegal payments to pornstar Stormy Daniels during the 2016 electoral campaign. As he was running for president for the first time, he is accused of having spent campaign funds to pay Daniels’ silence about their relationship.
Had Daniels revealed she and Trump had a love affair, Trump’s campaign would have been essentially over. Allegedly, $130.000 of campaign money were used to pay Daniels off.
According to the American legal system, Trump’s charges could (and likely will) be dropped, releasing him from detention. Nevertheless, this indictment is a historic precedent of massive proportions that will resonate for the foreseeable future.
Is Trump allowed to run for president
Donald Trump is so far the only official candidate for the 2024 elections. No other members of the Republican or Democratic parties have come forward to present their nomination.
Current US president Joe Biden is a likely candidate for the Democratic party, while Florida governor Ron DeSantis is another likely Republican opponent.
In general, the indictment does not prevent Trump from running for president. An indictment is an official document by the Grand Jury recognizing that there is enough proof to proceed with a trial.
If, after a trial, Donald Trump is convicted, then he would be forbidden from running in 2024.
For the moment, however, the indictment should not hurt Trump’s electoral base that much. His staff will (and already started to) frame this as political sabotage to prevent him from getting the presidency.
In fact, this indictment might even be bad news for other Republican nominees. As a Republican strategist put it: “Republicans are going to rally around Trump and so the question is: How do you find a way to go after him without pissing off a lot of the people that you’re trying to win over?”
Winning a general election after an indictment is nevertheless extremely hard. Trump’s electoral core is not wide enough, and the Democratic party has over a year to work out a good strategy.
It remains to be seen if Trump will actually be convicted, though it is an extremely unlikely scenario.
