A busy court schedule during the election season will negatively impact Trump's campaign schedule, forcing him to find a more suitable campaign strategy.
On March 25, the New York appeals court agreed to allow former President Donald Trump to reduce the bail of the $464 million fine to $175 million and required him to comply within 10 days.
This is considered a victory in the effort to deal with the series of legal troubles that are surrounding the former president. Just a day before, Mr. Trump was facing the risk of having to sell off valuable real estate to pay the fine, in the context that insurance companies refused to guarantee such a huge fine.
But on the same day, Mr. Trump failed in his attempt to postpone the trial of the lawsuit over allegations that he paid hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels to conceal damaging information during his 2016 election campaign. New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan rejected the argument from the former president's lawyers, setting the trial to begin on April 15.
The above developments partly show the unpredictable situation of Trump, as he is both a presidential candidate and a defendant. The period from now until the November election is assessed by observers to be unpleasant for both Mr. Trump and American voters.
Instead of focusing on campaigning, Mr. Trump now needs to prepare to appear in court from April 15. The trial will last at least 6 weeks and he will have to appear in court 4 days a week, except Wednesdays.
"How can you run for office when you have to sit in a Manhattan courthouse all day? I should be in South Carolina right now. I shouldn't be sitting in a courthouse," Trump said as he prepared to enter the New York Supreme Court on the morning of March 25.
Former President Donald Trump at the New York State Supreme Court on November 6, 2023. Photo: Reuters
Mr. Trump is facing four indictments totaling 91 charges. In addition to New York, the former president is accused of conspiring to overturn the election results leading to the riots on Capitol Hill in 2021, interfering in the Georgia election and illegally retaining classified documents after leaving the White House.
The Republican presidential candidate criticized the prosecutions as an attempt by President Joe Biden's administration to "interfere with the election." "I don't understand why they're starting a trial in the middle of an election. It's not fair," Trump said.
Fulton County prosecutors have proposed starting the trial of Mr. Trump on August 5 in the Georgia case, while a Florida federal court is scheduled to hear the case of illegally retaining classified documents on May 20. Meanwhile, a Washington federal court has not set a date for the trial of the conspiracy to overturn the election results, as the US Supreme Court is handling an appeal from Mr. Trump regarding the president’s immunity from prosecution.
For Biden’s campaign, his opponent’s series of legal scandals is both a challenge and an opportunity. The White House has largely kept quiet, avoiding giving Trump a reason to reinforce his claims of political victimhood, while Biden’s campaign has recently stepped up attacks on the former president.
“Donald Trump is weak and desperate, as a man or as a presidential candidate,” James Singer, a spokesman for Biden’s campaign, said on March 25. “His campaign can’t raise money. He doesn’t care about campaigning. And every time he opens his mouth, he alienates more moderate and suburban voters with his dangerous agenda.”
Mr. Trump was more active in the early stages of this year's election season than Mr. Biden. The situation reversed on Super Tuesday, March 5, when both candidates won big and were almost certain to win their party's nomination.
Since then, Mr. Trump has held only two campaign events, in Georgia and Ohio. He canceled an event in Arizona to support senatorial candidate Bernie Moreno. Aside from the Florida primary on March 19, Mr. Trump did not attend any rallies last week. He played golf and held political meetings to raise money.
Meanwhile, President Biden's campaign has been more active. He and his deputy Kamala Harris have traveled to key battleground states, holding more than 10 events in Georgia, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, Michigan and Texas.
Former US President Donald Trump in Vandalia, Ohio, on March 16. Photo: AFP
Political strategist Charlie Kolean is not surprised that Mr. Trump has not campaigned much since securing enough delegates to claim the Republican nomination, given his campaign's limited financial resources and the former president's legal troubles.
"I think this is a deliberate choice," Kolean said, not believing that President Biden can gain more advantages over Mr. Trump, as the Republican candidate will seek to adapt and adjust his campaign strategy to better suit the new situation.
"I believe you will see this happen. That is, Mr. Trump will be more restrained, more friendly when answering media interviews. When he is campaigning, he will act more strategically," Kolean said.
Sources familiar with the matter said Mr Trump now plans to campaign only on weekends in strategic states near New York, such as Pennsylvania, or in some Republican-leaning areas outside Manhattan. Mr Trump will conduct radio and television interviews from Trump Tower, where he will remain during his trial.
Supporters and political experts say Trump will seek other ways to attract attention, in order to limit the negative impact of his busy court schedule and tighter campaign budget.
“The Trump campaign stopped holding big events to save money. But Trump’s name was still on the front page of the newspapers every day. So even when he wasn’t campaigning, his visibility was still high,” said Dan Eberhart, a longtime Republican donor.
Trump's campaign had $42 million in early March and is trying to raise money to compete with its opponents, whose budget has reached about $100 million.
"The lack of campaign appearances also benefits Trump, as he stays out of the spotlight and doesn't give daily press interviews," Eberhart added, referring to the possibility that the former president could "slip up" and alienate independent voters. "It's clear that the former president's polling position won't be affected."
Nhu Tam (According to ABC News, CNN, AP )
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