Is the former president of the United States of America Donald Trump in jail yet? Why is he even being threatened with time behind bars? Will my mother ever truly love me for who I am? These are the questions I’ve been asking myself all day, and by God, I’ll find an answer to at least the first two.
Chances are if you’ve been scrolling through your socials or listening to a single American speak, all you’ve been seeing is that Trump is getting arrested. Or has been arrested. Or will be arrested.
It’s all very confusing if you don’t follow American politics, and I wouldn’t blame you for seeing the word “Trump” and wincing so hard you travelled through time and relived a bit of spicy 2016 trauma.
Allow me to unpack everything for you in easy-to-understand terms. The Trump case, that is, not your trauma. You may need someone else to help you with that.
What did Trump allegedly do?
God, what didn’t Trump allegedly do?
Trump has been charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records and intends to plead NOT guilty to all 34 of them.
Falsifying business records is basically legal speak for saying Trump allegedly made payments and signed cheques from The Trump Organisation under the business record of “legal services”.
However, these payments include alleged cheques to Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, adult film star Stormy Daniels (who allegedly received US$130,000), former Playboy model Karen McDougal (who allegedly received US$150,000) and an unnamed doorman (who claimed to have tea about Trump’s alleged secret child out of wedlock and received US$30,000).
Hush money isn’t really a “legal service”, especially when it interferes with an election. You can’t just buy your way out of negative press while trying to become president.
Thus, Trump could pay for his actions if he is indeed found guilty.
Was Trump arrested?
Trump’s arraignment was on April 5.
An arraignment is where they read out all of your charges to you so you’re crystal clear on what you’re being accused of.
Prior to this, he was kept under arrest in New York City.
BREAKING: Donald Trump is now under arrest in New York City ahead of his arraignment in court https://t.co/0NxzuxZt8I pic.twitter.com/9sdFFunjcM
— CNN (@CNN) April 4, 2023
He hasn’t gone to prison or been found guilty just yet. Only time will tell what happens there.
So yes, he’s technically been held under arrest. No, he isn’t in jail. Sad!!
Rachel Maddow hit the nail on the head here as MSNBC decides not to broadcast Trump’s post-indictment lie-fest. I wish other news organizations would do the same. Cough CNN. Cough Fox News.
“There is a cost to us as a news organization of knowingly broadcasting untrue things…… pic.twitter.com/U0ZwFdTL69
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) April 5, 2023
Could Trump go to prison?
Yes!
If found guilty of all 34 charges he could face 136 years in prison.
Trump’s really gonna hate walls after that.
“I wish you well” pic.twitter.com/amam5rTPWR
— Adam (@adamgreattweet) April 4, 2023
Could Trump still become President?
Also yes!
To become President of the United States there are a heap of boxes you need to tick first and “not in prison” is not one of them. It also doesn’t matter if there are criminal charges against your name.
Who needs to run the country from the White House when Cellblock 52 works just as well?
Senior fellow at the US studies centre Bruce Wolpe told the 7am podcast that Trump actually has a very real chance of winning the 2024 election, even if he’s facing the full force of the law.
“He believes that if he is a martyr, that will cement his position in the Republican party and give him a really clear tactical advantage in going against the Democrats in 2024,” he said.
“Trump believes that it will increase his popularity among hardcore Republicans, but I do think it provides an opening for other Republicans to say, you know, America needs a full-time President, it doesn’t need a full-time defendant.
“He’s gonna spend a lot of the next 18 months in courtrooms when he wants to be campaigning around the country.”
According to Wolpe, recent surveys have revealed that 70% of Republicans see Trump as a “very viable candidate” while 30% would prefer to not have him running at all.
Meanwhile, Trump is doing his usual thing and spinning the narrative in his favour.
He has called himself “the most innocent man in the history” of the US, and has called President Joe Biden‘s America a “lawless abyss” of “festering corruption” which is suffering from “super-hyper inflation”.
You have to hand it to him, the man could say “America is getting worser-badder-very-bad-terrible-mega-doomed and his lackeys would lose their collective shit.
What now?
Now, we wait.
This is pretty uncharted territory for America — having a former president face jail time while simultaneously using criminal charges against him to bolster popularity.
It’s easy to understand why people would be confused by all of this. Usually, alleged criminals wouldn’t be celebrated by half a country’s population, but hey, welcome to America.
