THE FIRST REPUBLICAN PRIMARY DEBATE

by Vijaya Chandrasoma

Trump had a busy week scheduled for last week. He had called a press conference, on Monday August 21, to unveil a “100-page dossier”, which would provide conclusive evidence that he was innocent of all the racketeering charges brought against him by the Fulton County District Attorney, Fani Willis, on conspiring to overturn the 2020 Georgia state elections.

However, he subsequently said that his lawyers had advised him not to release the dossier, posting on social media, “My lawyers would prefer putting this, I believe, Irrefutable and Overwhelming Evidence of Election Fraud and Irregularities, in Formal Legal Filings”.

Why and where he has been hiding all this evidence before his indictment remains a mystery, but the dossier is currently stored in a secure toilet at Mar a Lago.

Trump, the overwhelming favorite for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidency, did not participate in the first primary debate on Wednesday, August 23. The debate was organized under the aegis of Fox News in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, moderated by Fox News anchors, Brett Baier and Martha MacCallum.

In typically petty competition, Trump streamed an on-line, 45 minute interview with former Fox News host, Tucker Carlson, aired during the debate, where they both vied to be the world’s greatest liar. Trump’s description during the interview of January 6, 2021 as “an interesting day”, where there was a “lot of love among a crowd of patriots” proved that he hasn’t lost his touch.

Trump may be the prohibitive nominee for the 2024 presidency. However, it is the opinion of several constitutional lawyers, both on the right and the left, that Trump will not be qualified to be on any state ballot for the 2024 presidential election. His behavior during the January 6 insurrection and its aftermath, disqualifies him, according to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which reads:

“Disqualification from Holding Office

“No person shall …. hold any office, civil or military,…. who, having previously taken an oath to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof”.

There is no way that Trump can escape the fact that he had engaged in giving aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States. He did nothing for 187 minutes after inciting a violent insurrection. Then, after watching television of the storming of the Capitol by his supporters for 187 minutes, he finally addressed the mob storming the Capitol, “This was a fraudulent election. So go home. We love you. You’re very special”.

These were white supremacist thugs, who had stormed the Capitol, killed and wounded hundreds, including policemen, and chanted their intention to hang Mike Pence and kill Nancy Pelosi. To Trump, these traitors were “very special. He loved them”.

If these 187 minutes of encouraging an attack on the seat of the nation’s democracy by insurrectionists “he loves and were very special” did not constitute “giving aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States”, I can’t really imagine what it would take to be an enemy of the United States. Nuke New York?

The debate began on Wednesday night with eight Don Quixotes tilting at an invisible windmill. One conspicuous absentee was former Texas African-American Congressman, Will Hurd, a conservative Republican of the pre-Trump era, who unfortunately didn’t meet the qualifications necessary for the first debate.

The most pathetic moment of the debate was when moderator Brett Baier asked the candidates to raise their hands if they would support Trump for the presidency even if he was convicted of a felony. Ramaswamy’s hand shot up; the others took some time, looking around to see their rivals’ responses, and five of them slowly followed suit, DeSantis being the last. These cowards plan to walk the tight rope of contesting Trump for the presidency without criticizing him or hurting his base. The only dissidents were former Governors Asa Hutchinson and Chris Christie.

Nikki Haley distinguished herself on her performance in the debate, especially with her experience on foreign policy. She unexpectedly criticized both Trump and the Republican Party as a whole, saying that Trump was the “most disliked politician in America”, who had added $8 trillion to the massive national budget deficit. She said the US should continue providing assistance to Ukraine, to help maintain the territorial integrity of a sovereign ally, and not give in to the territorial ambitions of a “murderer”.

Vivek Ramaswamy monopolized much of the time with his outrageously glib misstatements and toothsome smile. He was unashamedly pro-Trump, saying that Trump had made bad judgments, but committed no crimes. If stealing top-secret government documents and inciting an insurrection were just bad judgments, I wonder what Ramaswamy’s idea of a crime would be. He was confident that he would settle the Russian invasion of Ukraine within days of his accession to the White House, and persuade President Xi to co-exist with Taiwan, borrowing one of Trump’s favorite political maneuvers – telepathically. But his first action from the Oval office would be to pardon Trump, according to him the best US president of the 21st century. Oh, yes, he also said that climate change is a hoax. As they say in Texas, he was all hat (teeth, in his case) and no cattle.

Vice President Pence played on his performance on January 6, 2021, when he “put the Constitution first” over Trump’s illegal instructions to overturn the election. A constitutional act which made him the unsung hero who saved the nation’s democracy on that terrible day. Several of his rivals approved of his action, but predictably, he was booed by the ultra-red Republican audience, who thought he was a traitor because he acted according to the Constitution.

DeSantis, Trump’s closest rival according to the polls, was ambivalent about the main issues, but his extreme bigoted views and lies about education, abortion, LGBTQ rights and lock-downs during Covid did not win him any votes. Neither did his robotic style of oration.

Tim Scott’s nice-guy personality kept him above the fray during heated moments, but it was obvious that he was really angling to be Trump’s vice-presidential pick.Christie did what he was expected to do, but he was like a bullfighter without the bull. He did have the best line in the debate:

“Here’s the bottom line. Someone’s got to stop normalizing this conduct. Whether or not you believe the criminal charges are right or not, the conduct is beneath the office of the president of the United States”. When this statement drew a chorus of boos, he said, “This is the great thing about this country, booing is allowed, but it doesn’t change the truth”.

That last statement gave him the distinction of being the most booed man of the evening. A supreme compliment, in my opinion.Governors Asa Hutchinson and Doug Burgum were the last to qualify for the debate. They will, on their lackluster performances in this debate, probably not make the second.

To sum up, Donald Trump won the debate, by a country mile. On current form, Trump will be the Republican nominee for 2024, even if he is convicted and behind bars, possibly even if he is dead.

Trump surrendered at Fulton County Jail on Thursday, August 24, where he was arrested and processed. Unlike his previous three indictments, he was treated like an ordinary criminal. He was escorted to the “notorious” Fulton County Jail, which is unlike any other federal or state facility where Trump has been arrested before. According to a veteran Georgia defense attorney, “The 2,500-bed jail has the reputation of being a scary, dangerous place. It’s miserable. It’s cold. It smells. It’s just generally unpleasant”. Although Trump spent little time in custody, he may have found his brief experience at Fulton County different from the luxurious accommodations and golden toilets he is accustomed to at Trump Tower and Mar a Lago.

Trump was fingerprinted, photographed and released on a conditional bail bond of $200,000 as Inmate no. P01135809. The conditions being that he will have no communications with co-defendants and witnesses, and will not otherwise obstruct the administration of justice.

His mug shot will appear on the front page of every US newspaper on Saturday, August 26. The first-time mug shot of a former president which will be a source of utmost shame for the entire country, an ignominy that will live forever in its history.

For the Trump team, however, this ultimate dishonor will be transformed into a badge of honor. They will immediately have T-shirts and other items displaying the mug shot, and make a ton of money from his supporters, claiming this is just another instance of the world’s longest witch hunt. You just can’t shame the shameless.

At the time of writing, 11 of the 18 co- conspirators, including his attorney, Rudi Giuliani, had surrendered, been arrested, processed and released on various conditions of bail. Everything seems to be going exactly the way District Attorney Willis planned – with one co-conspirator blaming the other, and most claiming they were acting on Trump’s direct or indirect instructions. Flipping and co-operating with the prosecution will only be a matter of time. When they realize that Trump has been throwing them under the bus, they will be singing like canaries in a coal mine.

The deadline for surrender is 12.30 p.m. on Friday, August 25, and anyone who does not meet the deadline will be considered a fugitive, arrested and imprisoned. District Attorney Fani Willis has made it clear that no extension will be given, under any circumstances. Any of the co-conspirators who miss the deadline on Friday will have to suffer a less than luxurious weekend at Fulton County Jail.

The Trump arrests in Manhattan, Miami and Washington D.C., as well as Thursday’s most humiliating arrest at the Fulton County jail did not bring the “death and destruction” and “blood in the streets” threatened by Trump and Lindsay Graham, if authorities dared to arrest the Fuhrer. Actually, the media outnumbered both the Trump supporters and protesters during all four arrests. The atmosphere at Atlanta was light and tension-free, much like a side show. The only threats made by Trump’s toothless domestic terrorists, usually through social media or telephone, evaporated into cowardly thin air. Atlanta law enforcement had the situation well under control, Trump’s arrest and motorcade departure to Hartsfield-Jackson Airport at Atlanta were completed without incident.

I may be wrong, I often am, but I do think the legal perils that Trump faces, have finally penetrated into his 65 IQ brain. The total absence of his “patriot cult” at Fulton Jail to show its “death and destruction” solidarity, his demeanor and body language showed that he was terrified out of his crazy little mind. The despicable crimes Trump has committed over the years have finally come home to roost.