Recent polling suggests that support for Donald Trump among Republican primary voters hasn’t wavered even after 91 felony indictments in four separate jurisdictions. Not surprisingly, this has attracted the attention of political pundits. Many view it as an indictment of Republican voters themselves. Cries of hypocrisy abound.
How can the GOP profess to support the rule of law and continue to support someone who seems to have a history of breaking it? Others view it as another example of the effects of extreme partisanship. As all the prosecutors in question are either elected Democrats or appointed by Democrats, it’s easy to understand how the Republican base might view the indictments through a partisan lens.
Few, however, are reporting an equally valid explanation. Unwavering support for the former president is an indictment of the political class itself. Tens of millions of voters apparently view Donald Trump as indistinguishable from most politicians. To them, Trump is a mirror, reflecting the dishonesty and corruption of so many politicians. In their minds, the former president is actually being honest in acknowledging this corruption and has become their champion by committing himself to tearing down the system.
Framing the indictments this way has the benefit of embracing Americans’ long-held views about Washington, D.C. It also allows Trump to go on the offensive while the Democrats, ironically, are on the defensive over the Biden family’s behavior.
A recent CNN poll suggesting that 61% of Americans, including over half of independents, believe then-Vice President Joe Biden was involved in Hunter Biden’s shady business dealings reinforces this notion. In explaining his connection to his son’s business, instead of just telling the truth, Biden has taken the tried-and-true politician’s path of trying to find the intersection of the politically palatable and the factually plausible. According to the CNN poll, the American people aren’t buying it. As new information comes to light, shrinking that intersection and causing Biden to jump to new ground, this skepticism appears to be well founded.
Mistrust of career politicians like Biden isn’t new. In polling originally commissioned by Pat Caddell, President Carter’s former pollster, voters consistently listed government ethics and corruption as one of their top two concerns from 2013 to 2020, when the last survey was completed.
Some of this contempt for politicians is clearly manufactured – a byproduct of billions of dollars poured into negative political ads over decades and partisan media pushing misleading narratives. Much of it, however, is based on an institutional corruption that seems to define the culture of the nation’s capital: dark money political spending, the revolving door to lobbying, insider stock trading, influence buying, nepotism, corporate welfare, and cronyism just to name a few. In positioning himself as being attacked by the Washington elite who are trying to protect this system, Trump is leaning into this perception.
The Democrat’s response suggests they don’t understand this. By parsing Biden’s words, they’re effectively trying to tell the American people that they didn’t hear what they think they heard. Telling 61% of Americans that they’re wrong has never been a winning strategy. More importantly, pointing to Jared Kushner’s $2 billion capital commitment from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund as being significantly more corrupt may be factually correct but ineffective. The American people don’t view corruption on a sliding scale of venality. And by raising the “Kushner Defense,” Democrats are playing into Trump’s hands by declaring the Biden family as merely petty thieves in comparison to the other side’s organized crime syndicate. In effect, they are agreeing with Trump that the whole system is corrupt.
How this all plays out in November 2024 is anyone’s guess. If the question remains a debate over which side is more corrupt, Trump probably benefits – because four years ago, voters expected more from Biden. If Democrats can move past the Biden family issues, particularly in the minds of independents, they will fare far better in November. Alternatively, voters may just decide that they’re sick of having to wade through the muck only to be left with a choice between two bad options. They might gravitate to the emerging No Labels ticket, which is gaining strength daily. A fresh face without corrupt baggage may be just what this country needs to move forward.
