Trump indicted: Charges could give former president a party boost in '24 race

(TND) — Former President Donald Trump might see a political boost, at least through the Republican primaries, from his prosecution in the alleged porn star hush money case.

Attorney and author Alan Dershowitz told The National Desk that Trump's mug shot will likely turn into the "most popular political poster in history."

Dershowitz expects Trump to embrace the situation and turn it to his political advantage as the former president again vies for the White House in 2024.

Todd Belt, Political Management program director at George Washington University, agrees.

“He has said that he wants to be handcuffed, and he's looking forward to making a media spectacle out of this,” Belt said.

A grand jury voted to indict Trump in the case stemming from alleged hush money paid to porn actor Stormy Daniels. Trump is accused of paying Daniels during the 2016 presidential race to keep her quiet about a previous affair.

But the charges remain unknown, and the indictment remains under seal.

Trump is expected to turn himself in for arraignment and booking Tuesday.

Trump and his allies accuse the New York prosecutor, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, of going after Trump for political purposes.

“THIS IS AN ATTACK ON OUR COUNTRY THE LIKES OF WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tweeted, “Alvin Bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election."

GOP chairwoman Ronna McDaniel called the indictment "a blatant abuse of power."

And potential GOP primary opponents are coming to Trump’s defense.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Bragg is weaponizing his office’s prosecutorial ability for political purposes.

And former Vice President Mike Pence told CNN that the prosecution of Trump is an “outrage.”

Dershowitz, an avowed Democrat, was highly critical of the indictment, which he views as politically motivated.

Bragg, he said, was “determined to indict the man who’s running against the head of the Democratic Party, Joe Biden, the man I voted for and hope to vote for again.”

Dershowitz doesn’t blanketly blame Democrats, saying he knows of many fellow Democrats who dislike Trump but oppose this indictment.

But Dershowitz does blame the Manhattan district attorney, a Democrat he said campaigned on the promise of going after Trump.

Dershowitz called it “one of the weakest cases in my 60 years of experience.”

Belt said Trump can ride the party support through the primaries.

This idea of a political witch hunt will harden Trump’s base, he said.

Trump might also benefit from a crowded field of contenders during the primaries.

GOP hopefuls for the White House might question Trump’s electability, and that might push them into the race.

The bigger the field gets, the more Belt said the GOP contenders could eat away at each other for the non-Trump votes.

And that could even hurt a presumptive front-runner such as DeSantis, according to Belt.

“There are going to be Republicans who think there is blood in the water, and they think that Donald Trump is weakened,” Belt said. “But what they don't realize is if they jump into the nomination phase, as well, then they're going to continue dividing up that vote. And it will make it more difficult for each of them.”

The general election could be a different story, however.

There, Trump’s legal issues might not play well with voters in the middle.

“It's easy for his opponent, whoever that is, (President Joe) Biden or someone else, to make the case that this person would be just too distracted to be president and is just not fit for the presidency,” Belt said.

There’s nothing in the Constitution preventing Trump from running for president if he’s indicted or even convicted, but Stefanie Lindquist, foundation professor of law and political science at Arizona State University, noted there would be significant questions about Trump’s ability to function in the office if he were to be convicted or even imprisoned.

Trump is facing other investigations that could also affect his bid for the White House. Among them are allegations of election meddling in Georgia and suspicions that Trump mishandled and concealed classified government documents.

Belt said each of these investigations are "working on their own calendar. I think that's what's really important, because you're going to get this drip, drip, drip of incriminations against him, which is going to be a knock on his electability for those people who are not firm Trump supporters."