The sexual assault conviction has far-reaching consequences for Donald Trump. The punishment will not remain with the compensation for pain and suffering.
The former President of the United States of America sexually assaulted a woman. The jury in New York unanimously reached its verdict on Donald Trump on Tuesday. They did not see the accusation of rape as proven. But according to the jury, there was a sexual assault on the author E. Jean Carroll. The sensitive penalty for Trump is five million dollars in damages (read more about the verdict here).
The political punishment could look much more consequential for Trump. Because the New York verdict is likely to trigger a moment of shock in the local Republican electorate, from which the resourceful populist will probably never recover. Few things are now more outlawed in American society than sexual violence – committed in a position of power at that.
His followers can no longer help him
An impressive example in the country’s recent history is the affair of Democratic President Bill Clinton with then-intern Monica Lewinsky. Although this case was not about sexual violence, it was about abuse of power and sex with a subordinate in a professional environment. Added to this was the moral component, because Clinton had cheated on his wife Hillary with Lewinsky.
This affair almost cost Bill Clinton his political office. Had he been convicted as a sex offender, he would presumably have become intolerable overnight. Donald Trump has an advantage over Clinton: Thanks to his fanatical supporters in his own camp, he still enjoys more support than Clinton ever could have. In addition, a part of American society sometimes seems so apathetic to any form of violence that Trump’s perpetration could also be accepted.
But elections in the USA are not won on the extreme political fringes, but in the middle of society. Basically, that means nothing more than winning swing voters in particular. They are a group that reacts particularly sensitively to trifles and can quickly cross paths with political opponents. Trump could now have permanently lost the trust of these voters.
Worse than impeachment
It will probably then hardly help him to try to sell the voters that this trial, along with the numerous other trials, is said to have been politically motivated. E. Jean Carroll’s case is not an impeachment trial in the United States Congress. A verdict has been reached in a US court, decided by a jury in a civil trial. It’s a lot harder to blame the Democrats. Trump will try anyway.
Americans may have gotten used to some of Trump’s failures and insults in recent years. However, society is much more sensitized to the MeToo debates than it was 20 years ago. Many Americans will not be willing to vote for a candidate for office who is sexually assaultive. This has long since been considered a serious abuse of power, not only in the political arena.
Trump’s decline has begun. He will keep squirming and not giving up. At what point it will fall remains to be seen. It is possible that his own voters will punish him in the forthcoming primaries for the presidential candidacy.
For his most promising competitor, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, there is one more good reason to announce his own candidacy as soon as possible. Meanwhile, more lawsuits await Trump.
