The 2024 United States presidential election is beginning to look increasingly like a referendum on Donald Trump. The 45th President leads not only all other Republican Party candidates by a considerable margin in voter surveys but also appears to be dominating the incumbent, Democrat Joe Biden, including in certain swing states. Yet, there could not be a more polarising figure at the forefront of electoral politics in the country.
On the one hand, Mr. Trump is reaping the hurricane for a variety of alleged improprieties including, most notoriously, his role in egging on a mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol buildings on January 6, 2021. This egregious act, which shook the country’s democratic credentials, marked the culmination of months of election result denial by Mr. Trump’s campaign, including active efforts to overturn the count in states such as Georgia.
Now, in addition to indictments for election interference in Georgia, and at the federal level for his role in encouraging the attack on the Capitol, the former President faces criminal cases regarding allegations that he unlawfully held classified documents at his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, after demitting office, and that he paid hush money to an adult film star to cover up an affair. Additionally, the Supreme Court of the state of Colorado recently barred his name from the election ballot citing a violation of the Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. constitution, known as the “insurrection clause”, which disqualifies individuals engaging in insurrection and rebellion from holding public office.
