Paradigm shift
For the first time, Trump seen as vulnerable victim of unequal justice system.
Something unusual has happened since yesterday when it was announced that former President Donald Trump would be indicted by Special Prosecutor Jack Smith on matters related to his storing of classified government documents at his private residence in Palm Beach, Florida. Unlike previous times when President Trump had difficulty with the legal system for situations ranging from politically motivated so-called impeachments by zealous Democrats in Congress, to the more mundane civil sexual harassment complaints by various women, to the way out-of-line indictment for handling of “hush money” to a porn actress, to the more serious allegations of violation of election law in Georgia. Previously when accused of crimes, President Trump fiercely attacked his accusers with his usual confrontational demeanor and abrasive language, true to his self-aggrandizing personality which often pleases supporters and drives detractors crazy. This time, when Trump let it be known that he would be indicted for seven counts of mishandling of classified documents and then calmly proclaimed himself to be innocent of the charges, many Americans saw him, for the first time ever, as a vulnerable victim of a weaponized legal system and not as an arrogant perpetrator.
The public is aware that President Trump is not the only politician who might have mishandled classified government documents. Others, including the current President, have committed similar transgression– but somehow, only Trump’s case is treated with zeal and urgency by the Department of Justice. That unequal treatment by the Law makes the phrase “No one is above the Law” ridiculous in this situation.
Our natural tendency is to protect the victim (in this case President Trump) and to punish the bullying perpetrator (currently the DOJ). As a result, the paradigm of US politics has shifted, because the Biden’s DOJ has “crossed the Rubicon”, making Trump a victim in the eye of voters, and that will backfire on the Democrats in the coming 2024 election.
June 9, 2023
Pham Hieu Liem, MD
Vietnamese American Conservative Alliance (VACA)
