Trump’s Indictment Might Be Making Him More Popular Among Republicans – By Monica Potts (FiveThirtyEight) / April 7 2023
Former President Donald Trump had the opportunity for a quiet, off-hours arraignment after a Manhattan Grand Jury sent up an indictment on 34 charges in state court. His Secret Service officials would have preferred that, too, for safety reasons, but Trump took a hard pass, according to reporting by Rolling Stone. “He wanted a perp walk; he wanted daylight hours,” a law enforcement official involved in the security planning told the magazine. More specifically, Trump wanted a public spectacle to send a message to his supporters.
And that’s what he got. Outside the courthouse Tuesday, groups of supporters and protesters gathered, surrounded by possibly even more journalists ready to cover the history-making event. While U.S. Senators and representatives have been tried and even convicted of crimes, and so have leaders in other democracies, a former United States President has never been in this kind of situation before.
Between the spectacle and the monumental nature of the news, it’s a lot to take in. Most Americans agree that Trump’s alleged actions were illegal, but there are, unsurprisingly, partisan differences when it comes to what to do about that.
