By Raúl Antonio Capote on August 28, 2023
Donald Trump, the great showman of U.S. politics, has managed to make public capital out of the various accusations that have been made against him.
Each outing, each presentation, has been prepared in great detail to exploit the feelings of the electorate, especially of his fanatical followers.
While the other Republican candidates faced each other in the first debate, the former president refused to participate claiming that, to him, everybody knows him and knows what he wants.
On the day of his arrest in Fulton County, Georgia, on charges of trying to reverse the 2020 election results in the state, polls shot up in his favor, a trend that has continued to grow.
The “bad guy” pose he struck for the photographer, every word he said, every gesture, was aimed first and foremost at challenging the government in Washington and downplaying his arrest. He even joked about fleeing to Russia after agreeing to his $200,000 bail in Georgia.
Just hours after the image of his arrest was made public, the “Trump Rescues USA Joint Fundraising Committee” was already offering different pieces of merchandise with the historic photo.
Trump’s campaign team took full advantage of the moment to market the image of the Republican presidential pre-candidate for the White House.
Shortly after, Donald Trump’s son, said through his X account: “There’s Trump merchandise! To be clear, all proceeds from this web store will be donated to the fund for legal defense against the tyranny and insanity we are seeing before us!”
Among the products are T-shirts and long-sleeved shirts for $34; coffee mugs for $25; beer “Koozies” at $15; $12 stickers, items include the phrase “Never Surrender.”
Trump became the first former U.S. president to appear in a booking photo after turning himself in to authorities in Georgia, in the photo he appears defiant, with a scowl and red tie.
In April, Trump was booked in New York on state charges of bribing former porn actress Stephanie Clifford, known as “Stormy Daniels,” in exchange for her not talking about their alleged relationship.
During June, Trump surrendered in federal court in Miami, Florida, to face the case for withholding classified documents from his Mar-a-Lago mansion. And this month, he was arraigned in a Washington D.C. court on charges of attempting to reverse the 2020 election results and storming the Capitol.
The truth is that the tycoon has been able to take advantage of each of these accusations, turning each arrest into a spectacle, on the other hand, the erratic administration of the current president, Joe Biden, has undoubtedly contributed to the success of the “business” of his irreconcilable rival.
If Donald Trump’s sui generis campaign continues like this, his march towards electoral victory in 2024 may become an irreversible reality.
Raúl Antonio Capote is a Cuban writer, professor and researcher
Source: Cuba en Resumen