Don't count on Trump's sprawling federal indictment for removing and compromising highly classified information to turn the tide on Republican support, warned reporter James Risen for The Intercept on Friday — as he is essentially a "cult leader" and his followers are in a "fever dream" of loyalty and grievance.
"The Republican Party has devolved into a cult of personality, where every new piece of evidence of their leader’s criminality becomes another reason for his followers to defend him," wrote Risen. "Donald Trump has now been indicted twice in just over two months, in separate cases involving accusations of unrelated crimes. Both times, Republicans have rallied around him. The group of whiners and weaklings who are running against Trump for next year’s Republican presidential nomination are so intimidated by his hold on the party’s base that they are afraid to publicly tell the truth, which is that Trump is a thug who should be in prison instead of the White House."
The problem for Republicans, continued Risen, is that this isn't even where it is likely to end — more indictments could be coming.
"Trump faces the very real possibility that he will be indicted at least two more times this year, in cases related to his efforts to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election," wrote Risen. "In Georgia, he could be charged later this summer for his efforts to change the outcome of the presidential election in the state, which Joe Biden won. A separate federal investigation is underway into Trump’s role in the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and his broader efforts to overturn the presidential election."
And criminal charges aren't the only concern, either; Trump is also facing a civil fraud case against his family and company by New York State, which they are are attempting to stonewall. And all of this overlooks all the legal matters in Trump's rearview mirror, like his double impeachment and the Mueller Report.
"Will four criminal indictments, a wide-ranging civil fraud case, a civil sexual abuse and defamation verdict, two impeachments, a stalled obstruction of justice case, and 30,573 lies be enough to wake up Republicans?" wrote Risen. "During the early days of his 2016 presidential campaign, after he began to attract huge crowds of zealous supporters, Trump famously said that 'I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters.' He is currently testing that theory. So far, the Republican Party is proving him right."
