The Trump Effect

Fifteen days have passed since the Election of 2024 made Donald J. Trump a President-elect once again. Those fifteen days have seen a demonstration of a profound effect – not quite universal, but still salutary – on public affairs. Call it the Trump Effect. This goes beyond the shocking series of unforced errors that not only let Trump win reelection, but also cost Democrats control of the Senate and stopped them from regaining control of the House of Representatives. Corrupt prosecutors, vindictive establishment politicians, and slanderous “journalists” are folding their tents in ways no one would have predicted. Rather than brazenly continuing their warfare, most of them are surrendering. Those who have not surrendered, have found friends and supervisors abandoning them. If the Trump Effect is real, it is the most stunning change-of-power in Western political history.

The Trump Effect turns off the lawfare

Recall that, as the election approached, Donald Trump had a conviction on his record, on an absurd thirty-four counts. Many have observed, despite the hectoring pontification of the prosecutor in that case, that no businessman except Donald Trump had ever faced such charges under the circumstances involved, or ever would face them. Still, Trump was facing sentencing in that case.

Tellingly, the judge in that case had postponed sentencing until after the election. This was the second such delay; earlier the judge had delayed sentencing from July 11 to September 18. That delay followed the U.S. Supreme Court’s Primer on Presidential Immunity.

Now that Trump has won reelection, Judge Juan Merchan has delayed sentencing indefinitely. He gave no explanation.

Nor is this all. The Department of Justice, and the Office of Special Counsel, have asked Judge Tanya S. Chutkan to vacate all briefing deadlines in their “January 6 case” against Trump. Furthermore, Special Counsel Jack Smith has asked the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals to vacate deadlines in his appeal of Judge Aileen M. Cannon’s dismissal of the “Documents Case.” In fact they were evaluating filing motions-to-dismiss on all cases the day after the election. Smith and Attorney General Merrick Garland say that “longstanding policy” against prosecuting sitting Presidents requires this action.

But they might have other motives. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the Department, after first demanding preservation of records. And now Department officials – and officials at the FBI – are hiring criminal defense attorneys.

Drama surrounding nominees

Last week, of course, Donald Trump announced his first round of nominees for Cabinet and other offices. They included Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) as Attorney General, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services. (Rep. Gaetz resigned from the House the next day. He sought to start the clock on a special election to succeed him in Congress, and thwart the release of some damaging information.) Both men have faced, and continue to face, serious attacks by those they threaten. Lee Fang today described the campaign by the junk food industry to vilify Kennedy. But two days ago, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) sounded the same alarms Kennedy is sounding, about American food.

For years I have been raising the alarm of the dangers of our current food system. We’re prioritizing corporations feeding us unhealthy products instead of family farmers growing fresh, healthy foods – and we let too many dangerous chemicals flood our food system. We all must come together to build a system that works for all. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.)

For years I have been raising the alarm of the dangers of our current food system. We’re prioritizing corporations feeding us unhealthy products instead of family farmers growing fresh, healthy foods – and we let too many dangerous chemicals flood our food system.

We all must… pic.twitter.com/YlJwdXc7VA— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) November 18, 2024

Thanks Senator, for your long history of leadership on this issue.— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) November 18, 2024

That suggests Kennedy might have significant Democratic support in the Senate.

Matt Gaetz benefits from the Trump Effect

Matt Gaetz will have worse confirmation problems – or will he? True, thirty nominally Republican Senators, including Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), said, “No.” Worse, the House Ethics Committee surreptitiously released some information they thought would damage Gaetz. The information concerned allegations that he had been in appropriate with a girl, then 17 years old. Gaetz has consistently denied that anything of the sort occurred. Furthermore, the Justice Department declined to prosecute, in fear that their star witness would crack up on the stand. Nevertheless two other witnesses have their own attorney, who started hinting that he would keep those allegations alive.

But yesterday morning, Trump started calling Senators personally to urge their support for Gaetz. And before the day was out, the attack campaign against Gaetz started to unravel. Sunny Hostin, co-hostess on ABC’s The View, choked back her rage as she read aloud a disclaimer on the allegations. Today, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) publicly declared his support of Gaetz and told his fellow Republicans to knock it off. And by day’s end, the House Ethics Committee had voted against releasing any more information. But Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) threatened to blast the report out of that Committee with a privileged discharge motion. Nevertheless, one of those very witnesses now says Matt Gaetz will make a great Attorney General!

Behold the Trump Effect. Nothing else could explain what just happened in that Committee, or Sen. Graham’s change of attitude.

The Trump Effect on journalists

Sunny Hostin’s rage-choked reading of the disclaimer is only one example of the Trump Effect on journalists. Recall that MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski, and her husband Joe Scarborough, both have compared Trump to Hitler. In fact, Mika ranted and raved on the subject of Trump less than two weeks before the Election.

But over the weekend, the two met with Trump at his Mar-A-Lago club and estate. After that they said they’d take “a new approach” to their coverage of Trump. They likely did so on orders from Comcast executives, who are trying to sell MSNBC. (So far, they have no takers.) Megyn Kelly is not impressed, and the hostesses of The View are outraged.

Shortly before the Election, Ann Selzer of The Des Moines Register published a poll saying Vice-President Kamala Harris was leading Trump by 3 percent in Iowa. In fact, Trump carried Iowa by 13 percent. This caused great embarrassment for Ms. Selzer, who evidently couldn’t read her own crosstabs! She has since quit polling.

On election integrity and immigration

Not only did Trump carry Pennsylvania, but Republican David McCormick took the seat of Sen. Robert Casey (D-Pa.). After that, at least one Board of Election voted at least 2-1 to count mail-in absentee ballots lacking proper dates, signatures, or both. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court had already ruled such ballots illegal – but the Bucks County Board counted them anyway. One member, Diane-Ellis Marseglia, boasted of it.

We all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country. And people violate laws anytime they want. So, for me, if I violate this law, it’s because I want a court to pay attention to it. Diane-Ellis Marseglia

The Pennsylvania Republican Party sued, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered the Board to stop the illegal counts and remove any illegally counted ballots from the vote totals. After that, Ms. Meseglia claimed others took her remarks out of context. Activist Scott Pressler, who had gallivanted across the State registering new Republicans to vote, today led a group of protesters into the Board of Elections meeting. They demanded the immediate resignation of Meseglia and her fellow Democrats.

And on immigration, the Haitians are running out of Springfield, Ohio, as fast as they can run. They’re not waiting for the coming mass deportation! In fact, Trump said he would declare a national emergency, so he could use the military to deport people. Leftist officials, like Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-Ariz.), refuse to cooperate. No matter, it seems. Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) has offered 1400 acres on the Rio Grande Valley for building a deportation facility. Behold the Trump Effect writ large.

Summary

The Trump Effect is real, and apparently pervasive, at least for domestic issues. Donald Trump’s legal troubles seem to be over – and he has a strong jurist who will make an excellent appellate judge, and possibly a Justice of the Supreme Court, someday. He’ll get his nominees, no matter the controversy surrounding them, because he has momentum on his side. Journalists have effectively surrendered, clearly indicating that all their vituperative name-calling of Trump and his supporters was worse than exaggerated.

Stopping the illegal counting of faulty mail-in absentee ballots in Pennsylvania was a good start. (It should end in removal of those election commissioners from office, and eventually the abolition of voting by mail.) And Gov. Abbott’s offer of land to build a deportation facility will do more than solve the illegal immigration problem. This will dampen the enthusiasm in Texas for seceding from the Union. Doubtless the Texas Nationalist Movement will keep campaigning for that. They should – that’s how they will obtain a full redress of the many grievances the Biden-Harris administration has provoked. But one of the first moves new Attorney General Matt Gaetz should make, is to dismiss the cases his predecessor filed against Texas, and settle the cases Texas filed against the federal government.

Trump hasn’t even taken office, and already he has brought salutary change to America. He’ll bring even more such change when he assumes office.