“Donald Trump’s Popularity Rises Despite Guilty Verdict: Analysis”

It’s with Donald Trump like the smooth surface of Teflon in a frying pan. Nothing sticks. Everything bounces off.

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This week, a jury in New York found the former president guilty of sexual assault and defamation.

After such a verdict, the election campaign would be over for other presidential candidates. But not for Trump.

At a public meeting organized by CNN on Thursday night, he mocked the woman to whom he has been sentenced to pay NOK 52 million in restitution.

And the Republicans in the room applauded and laughed.

Trump is seeking redemption for the humiliating defeat in the 2020 presidential election. He cannot accept defeat. He is more popular now than at any time since he had to leave the White House.

In the 1980s, democratic politicians referred to Ronald Reagan as the “Teflon president”. They believed that scandals and blunders did not stick to him.

The same is true of Trump, at least in terms of how Republican voters perceive him.

His supporters choose to overlook personal flaws and shortcomings in Trump that they would not have accepted in another politician. History is full of examples of candidates who had to withdraw after being caught lying or acting inappropriately.

That does not apply to Trump. He never shows remorse.

In New Hampshire, he repeated the big lie that he won the presidential election in 2020. He described the darkest day in the recent history of American democracy, the storming of Congress on January 6, 2021, as a beautiful day.

He called Vladimir Putin smart, even though it was a stupid decision to go to war. He failed to answer whether Ukraine or Russia should win the war. He will anyway stop the war within 24 hours, if he becomes president.

His party colleagues clapped enthusiastically. They love Trump’s show. Whether the story is true or false is not so important. This is how democracy weathers.

In a new poll for ABC News/Washington Post, Donald Trump leads President Joe Biden by seven percent. Other measurements show an almost dead race.

Trump has recently increased his lead over Ron DeSantis, who admittedly has not yet declared that he is running for president.

It is a long time until the presidential election, but Trump is the clear favorite to become the Republican candidate.

Trump’s strategy is always the same when he is investigated, indicted or convicted. He has done nothing wrong. He is completely innocent.

If the court thinks otherwise, he appeals. All the legal proceedings are part of the biggest witch hunt in history, according to Trump.

Journalist and author E. Jean Carroll filed a civil lawsuit against Trump. She accused him of rape in 1996 and of defamation when he later called her a liar.

The jury in New York acquitted Trump of rape, but found him guilty of sexual assault and defamatory statements. Trump was sentenced to pay Carroll a compensation of NOK 52 million.

Trump calls the ruling in New York a disgrace and will appeal. Trump says he has no idea who this woman is.

However, he has previously said that Carroll is “not his type”. Several other women have previously accused Trump of harassment and other matters, but he has always maintained his innocence. Carroll’s case is the only one that has gone to court.

It is worth noting that Trump has not been convicted in a criminal case. In a civil action, the jury must judge whether the probability is greater that the person concerned is guilty than not guilty. In a criminal case, the list is set higher. For a guilty verdict, it must then be proven beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty.

In April, the former president was indicted on 34 counts in a criminal case in New York, which is mainly about alleged falsification of accounts.

Among other things, the case concerns the alleged payment of “hush money” to the porn actor Stormy Daniels and others. Trump denies the accusations.

In the past, accusations against Trump have actually gained importance. Recordings that the celebrity channel Access Hollywood made public in the fall of 2016. It was about to destroy Trump’s election campaign.

It was in this recording from 2005 that Trump boasted that “when you’re a star, women will let you do whatever you want”. Which included taking women by the genitalia.

Trump called it “wardrobe talk” and a few weeks later he won the presidential election.

The biggest problem for Trump is not winning the Republican nomination. To become president, he needs the support of independent voters. Republicans are struggling to appeal to female voters.

That task becomes even more difficult with Trump as a candidate. Among women and independent voters, it is as if Trump’s Teflon is not working.

E. Jean Carroll has won a personal victory. In a statement, she says that this is not exclusively a victory for her, but for all women who have suffered because they have not been believed.

When Trump is investigated or sued, he always calls it part of an ongoing witch hunt. It is a conspiracy by radical democrats or the “deep state”.

He tells his followers that the witch hunt is also aimed at them: If they can do this to me, think what they can do to you.

But it was not “the deep state” that went to trial against Trump in New York. There was one single woman who told of a shocking event that changed her life. She was found guilty by a jury of nine.

Even if you are a star in your own eyes, you cannot do what you want. And no one is above the law. Nor ex-presidents.