In a much-awaited relief for the US presidential candidate Donald Trump, a US judge in Florida this week dismissed the criminal case accusing him of illegally keeping classified documents after leaving office, handing the Republican former president another major legal victory.
Not only this, but from facing potentially damaging court cases to surviving an assassination attempt, and from a series of blunders by his rival President Joe Biden to a dramatic shift in public opinion, the tide has turned dramatically in Trump’s favour.
Just a few weeks ago, Trump’s campaign was reeling from legal challenges and his controversial statements. Still, unexpected events have breathed new life into his presidential bid. As the November election draws near, Trump’s supporters are energised, and his opponents are scrambling to regroup in the face of a resurgent Trump juggernaut.
Classified documents case
Trump pleaded not guilty on June 13, 2023, and again on Aug. 4, 2023, to charges brought by Smith in federal court in Florida that he unlawfully kept classified national security documents after leaving office in January 2021 and misled officials who sought to recover them.
Trump faces 40 criminal counts in the case. A trial is on indefinite hold after U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, postponed a scheduled May 20 start without setting a new date.
The documents included information about the U.S. nuclear program and potential vulnerabilities in the event of an attack, according to the indictment. Smith accused Trump of risking national secrets by taking sensitive papers with him when he left the White House and storing them haphazardly at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Trump faces charges that include violations of the Espionage Act, which criminalizes unauthorized possession of defense information, and conspiracy to obstruct justice, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Trump has argued that he deemed the materials personal property.
Biden’s poor debate performance
President Biden’s performance during the first presidential debate has been widely criticised, with voices both within and outside his party calling for him to step aside. The debate, which featured Biden and Donald Trump, went especially poorly for the incumbent president, ultimately strengthening Trump’s position.
With the November election just three months away, many Democrats reportedly want Biden to step down as the presidential candidate. Post-debate polls suggest that nearly three in four American voters don’t want Biden to run for a second term. However, the 81-year-old president has said he might be old but he is still capable of running for the top post.
Biden, who already faces scrutiny over his age, struggled to match the energy of Trump, who is only three years younger. The president often resorted to raspy rambling and appeared to have difficulty articulating his points. At one moment, he mistakenly referred to “billionaires” as “trillionaires” before correcting himself.
After Trump shooting, the presidential race changed dramatically
In a country already on edge, the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump has enraged his supporters, paused the Democratic campaign and raised fears of further political violence in the run-up to November’s election.
Trump’s Republican allies painted him as a hero on Saturday, seizing on the image of him with his ear bloodied and fist raised, appearing to mouth the words “Fight!
Whereas Trump has regularly used violent language with his followers, advisers and allies of the former president flipped the script on his Democratic opponent President Joe Biden, saying it was the demonisation of the Republican presidential candidate that led to the assassination attempt.