NEW YORK – Donald Trump likes to be the center of attention.
But in the days since President Joe Biden’s disastrous performance in the debate, the presumptive Republican nominee has kept a low profile, laying bare the drama engulfing the Democratic Party as he and his campaign rejoice over a series of legal and political victories in the race. -Until the Republican elections. National Convention this month.
Trump’s crusade began last week in the first debate, when Biden put on such a depressing performance that he has spent the days since fending off calls from alarmed Democrats to step aside to save the party from election losses.
On Monday, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, restricting the prosecution of Trump for his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden. He will almost certainly not be tried before Election Day.
And on Tuesday, sentencing in Trump’s criminal trial in New York postponed his sentencing to assess the effect of the Supreme Court’s decision.
The flurry of smart news, coupled with a primary fundraiser that wiped out what was a really extensive monetary merit for Biden, has given Trump and his team an explanation for why they rejoice as they head into this month’s conference. And it frustrated Biden supporters who would prefer to focus on Trump’s ambitious timeline for his second term and comments he made in the debate downplaying the Capitol insurrection and suggesting that he may not settle for the effects of this election either.
Instead of taking a victory lap, Trump kept a low profile. Although he participated in several radio interviews over the weekend and was active on his Truth Social site, he has no public events on his agenda this week.
This is partly due to the calendar, as the Fourth of July is on Thursday. But Trump’s team, realizing that Biden’s crusade is facing intense pressure, is perfectly content to move forward with the incumbent president, according to other people familiar with the strategy who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss cross-thinking.
Brendan Buck, a Republican strategist who supports Trump, credited the former president for what he called an “unusually disciplined” reaction to the debate and for “letting Biden go with the wind. “
But he added that there are demanding situations for the former president as he seeks a second term.
“Trump is still an incredibly vulnerable bad candidate. And that’s what makes it even worse,” he said of the debate debacle. “I think Donald Trump is still capable of ruining everything. “
In a statement, Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the campaign “will continue to build on the momentum gained by President Trump to grow our movement, raise the money we want to win, and head into the fall so we can achieve a historic milestone. “victory. “
Recent occasions may also have an effect on the timing of Trump’s election as vice president: an announcement that is sure to attract a lot of attention and a flood of stories about the record and beyond the statements of his selected candidate.
Campaign officials have said Trump will announce his selection when he’s ready, though they warn that the announcement could come at any moment.
But for some allies now it’s more likely to wait.
“Donald Trump has a hot hand. He’s playing his game perfectly,” said Corey Lewandowski, director of Trump’s 2016 crusade, who accompanied him to the June 27 debate and is now a senior adviser at the convention. Given the existing situation, Lewandowski said, “There is no explanation for announcing something and diverting media attention from Joe Biden. “
While the election is still months away, Lewandowski argued that Trump is now in a more potent position than he was at this point in his past campaigns.
“All of those things imply that the crusade needs to keep its foot in the fuel and keep the pressure on Biden’s crusade,” he said.
Meanwhile, attendees are rejoicing over Biden’s crusade. Steven Cheung, Trump’s leading spokesman, took part in a media call of Biden’s crusade on Monday to respond to the Supreme Court’s ruling and mocked the crusade on social media for allowing him to join.
On Wednesday, Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, senior advisers to Trump’s crusade, also weighed in, pointing to the “total collapse of the Democratic Party. “
“All of the Democrats who called on corrupt Joe Biden to resign were ever supporters of Biden and his failed policies that lead to excessive inflation, an open border, and chaos at home and abroad,” they wrote, blaming Democrats, the media, and the government. government. ” swamp” for having “collaborated to hide the fact from the American public: Joe Biden is weak, a failure, a cheater and fit for the White House. “
Meanwhile, Biden and his allies have tried to draw attention back to Trump. They noted that Trump once downplayed the violence of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U. S. Capitol during the debate and refused to denounce those who attacked police officers and broke into construction by breaking doors and windows.
Trump has also continually refused to state unequivocally that he would settle for the effects of next November’s election, saying he would only do so “if the election is fair, legal and good. “The case, even though Trump has been spreading false fears about voter fraud for years.
Democrats also drew attention to Trump’s mention that immigrants who enter the U. S. illegally have “black jobs” and “Hispanic jobs,” arguing that Trump insults other people of color.
And Biden and his allies have warned of the implications of the Supreme Court ruling that signals Trump immune from prosecution for the key moments indexed in the Jan. 6 indictment. They cited Trump’s previous comments that he would be a “dictator” on his first day. and his threats to sue his political enemies.
Over the weekend, Trump distributed several posts on his Truth Social network that reflect his longstanding grievances and threats of political retaliation. One of the posts reported that former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, a Republican critic, was “guilty of treason” and asked her supporters. percentage if they searched for “televised military courts. ” Another article featured photographs of Biden and other more sensible Democratic and Republican officials and recommended that they be jailed.
“Trump now has the canopy he desires to imprison and assassinate his opponents, order the military to overturn a relaxed and fair election, and accept bribes in exchange for pardons, with full immunity,” Biden crusader spokesman Ammar Moussa charged in a statement. “Next November, the electorate will have to stop Trump from turning the Oval Office into a throne room. “
Trump has a long history of what would be devastating episodes that would end his career as fuel for his crusades.
Although he has been indicted four times and convicted on 34 counts of tampering with business records, his felony trial and conviction appear to have done little to hurt his position in the polls and have helped him raise millions of dollars.
His crusade announced on Tuesday that he had surpassed Biden in the quarter of the year, with an announced profit of $331 million.
In a sign of how Trump’s warring parties feel about the state of the race, Buck, the Republican strategist, warned that the former president could be in trouble if the fallout from the debate pushes Biden out of the race, though that has been unlikely lately. It is possible that Trump will then face a fresher face, potentially more full of life and more activist than Biden.
“This lucky week may turn unfortunate,” Buck said, “if it means Biden surrenders. “
In their statement, LaCivita and Wiles objected to the concept and insulted Vice President Kamala Harris, an imaginable successor to Biden, calling her the president’s “mocking co-pilot. “
Trump, they said, “will beat any Democrat on Nov. 5 because he has a proven track record and his goal is to rebuild America. “