The real winners of the never-ending Trump drama

The real winners of the never-ending Trump psychodrama
Story by Peter Laffin •
August 2023

FILE - Former President Donald Trump steps off his plane as he arrives at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. On Aug. 25, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming that the fact that Trump won more counties than President Joe Biden in 2020 suggests Trump actually won the election. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

The release of former President Donald Trump’s mug shot last week, which plastered his faux-tough guy grimace across every screen in America, did more to solidify his position within the Republican Party than anything he could have done on his own. Indeed, the ongoing persecution and prosecution of Trump is more useful to his political prospects than if he’d bought a Big Mac for every worker in Iowa and kissed every baby in New Hampshire.

There's even speculation the photo will earn him more endorsements from celebrity rappers than he’s already received — Benny the Butcher pledged his vote for Trump following the release, joining Lil’ Wayne, Lil’ Pump, DaBaby, and of course, Kanye West. For a guy whose only “get out of jail free” card is a White House win, the free media generated by the widely circulated mug shot is pure music.

Democrats and their media allies are popping the champagne, too. Most Americans still don’t know that the Democratic Party spent tens of millions of dollars in the 2022 Republican primaries to prop up MAGA candidates who were easily beatable in the general election. In nine key battleground states alone, the Democratic Party spent $53 million on ads toward this end.

It was an ingenious and deeply cynical move that reduced the much-ballyhooed red wave to a measly trickle.

The Trump indictments are best understood as an extension of this strategy. They guarantee the media will spend most of its election coverage relitigating the Trump years instead of the Biden years, which is exactly what Democrats want. They are betting that "Operation MAGA Boost” still has plenty of legs. And who could blame them?

Of course, this is an unmitigated disaster for a nation with grave problems at home and abroad.