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So Donald Trump is now a convicted felon -- no doubt pending appeal. As usual, his opponents are drawing quick and definite conclusions as to his ultimate fate. Naturally, they see him as finished. No way will he wriggle out of this, they believe at best he goes to jail, and at worst home confinement, which will limit his ability to campaign. Even some Republicans, although they decry the verdict, secretly hope that the old RINOs can slap Nikki Haley on the ticket. The deep state must be heavily represented if Trump is retaining their support.
But as with everything concerning Trump, it is a tricky situation. That he is the presumptive GOP nominee bears witness to his durability. He has set a record in winning primaries and he is heading to his third Republican coronation. Trump has gotten out of more trouble than anyone in American political history. Perhaps only Aaron Burr and Louisiana's Huey Long managed to escape more calamities, but I doubt it.
Since he declared his candidacy in 2015, Trump has been discounted, and yet he is still around. Because of these artful dodges, he is gaining mythic status. The uniparty, which does not mean unity, is not a term of endearment. On the contrary, it is meant as a pejorative to claim that we have not two parties but in fact one party. This is what Trump plays on with great success. MAGA as a movement asserts that it is the economy of what they believe is a political ruse. The court case was simply a representation of a one-party state pretending to be a competitive system.
It does not take a great leap to wonder just how Trump can use this to his advantage. Prometheus on the rock and other such stories of heroes being scourged could be trotted out to defend Trump. Given his record of escape, he becomes the Harry Houdini of American politics.
Indeed, the same people that now cheer his legal problems forget the "Access Hollywood" case. Trump's locker room asides did not destroy him, anymore than his dismissal of John McCain's war record. He has broken nearly every one of Washington's so-called immutable rules of politics. Compared to him, Huey Long and George Wallace were pikers, mere amateurs unworthy of comparison. Yet his opponents mock him, while praising Joe Biden. The Washington punditry has always gotten it wrong concerning Trump. They bet heavily on the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and once again they lost.
But yet Trump detractors keep at it, ignoring facts they find unpleasant. Especially GOP never-Trumpers, who just never could understand why John Kasich or Nikki Haley never made it in the primaries. Perhaps it is because they have no understanding of the Trump voter. These voters who have been derided as "deplorables" are far more diverse than those who mock them. Some are conservatives, moderates and an occasional liberal who has been "mugged by reality."
Also Democrats, usually priding themselves for having empathy, lack the imagination to discern Trump and his movement. Anti-Trumpers seem to think people should march in lockstep on the great issues of the day. To not take MAGA seriously is risking defeat.