As the electoral map increasingly shrinks for Harris, Trump is on the possible highway to success with two swing states, North Carolina, and Georgia voting for the Republican.
Many are pointing out how the electoral map is looking more like 2016, when Trump won, rather than like 2020, when Biden won – even though the 2024 results are still far from decided.
All eyes are also turning to Trump’s four criminal indictments, which are waiting for him even though he paves his path from the courtroom to the White House.
In April 2023, Trump had become the first US president to be tried and convicted of crimes. One of those cases went to trial this year before the election.
In fact, Trump spent first half of 2024 juggling between a busy courtroom and campaign schedule.
In May, the New York court ruled him guilty in a hush money trial, accusing him of falsifying business records stemming from a payment that silenced a porn star.
The former president pleaded not guilty and denied all wrongdoing.
“The real verdict is going to be November 5, by the people, and they know what happened here and everybody knows what happened here,” Trump said to hallway cameras after angrily exiting the courtroom following his conviction.
His sentencing is due in late November, an unprecedented moment in American history, whether a former US president will serve time in prison.
By all means, as he becomes the president-elect if one goes by the voting trends, the presidential immunity will come into effect.
According to an analysis by CNN News, if Trump wins the race for the White House but loses an appeal to dismiss the case, then his legal team will have to “shape their legal arguments about constitutional issues and challenge whether a state judge could sentence a former president and president-elect”.
This could tie the case up in courts for years.
In addition, the likely argument in favour of Trump would also be that as president, he cannot be tried until after his term is completed – four years from January.
As regards to the other cases, two are federal indictments brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
Both cases are eligible for presidential pardon – though in US history, a self-pardon has never happened.
According to a report in Business Insider, if elected president, Trump could ask his attorney general to simply fire Smith.
Trump said in a conservative radio interview last month that if elected, he would fire Smith “within two seconds”, the report says.
Finally, the serious case of federal election interference accuses Trump of trying to overturn the 2020 election. Again, presidential immunity will come into play here.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all the cases, alleging “political persecution”.
As people and Republicans sense a possible Trump victory, it will be interesting to see this journey from the courtroom to the White House.
The 78-year-old former president was impeached twice while in office, and faced four indictments even as he geared up for the 2024 race, while being involved in countless scandals… Getting back into the White House for a second term will be an extraordinary achievement in political terms.
