For Trump, a Lifetime of Scandals Heads Toward a Moment of Judgment For Trump, a Lifetime of Scandals Heads Toward a Moment of Judgment
The New York Times
No major party presidential candidate, much less president, in American history has been accused of wrongdoing so many times.
When the history of the 2024 election is written, one of the iconic images illustrating it will surely be the mug shot taken of Donald J. Trump after one of his four indictments, staring into the camera with his signature glare. It is an image not of shame but of defiance, the image of a man who would be a convicted felon before Election Day and yet possibly president of the United States again afterward.
Sometimes lost amid all the shouting of a high-octane campaign heading into its final couple of weeks is that simple if mind-bending fact. America for the first time in its history may send a criminal to the Oval Office and entrust him with the nuclear codes. What would once have been automatically disqualifying barely seems to slow Mr. Trump down in his comeback march for a second term that he says will be devoted to “retribution.”
In all the different ways that Mr. Trump has upended the traditional rules of American politics, that may be one of the most striking. He has survived more scandals than any major party presidential candidate, much less president, in the life of the republic. Not only survived but thrived. He has turned them on their head, making allegations against him into an argument for him by casting himself as a serial victim rather than a serial violator.
His persecution defense, the notion that he gets in so much trouble only because everyone is out to get him, resonates at his rallies where he says “they’re not coming after me, they’re coming after you, and I’m just standing in the way.” But that of course belies a record of scandal stretching across his 78 years starting long before politics. Whether in his personal life or his public life, he has been accused of so many acts of wrongdoing, investigated by so many prosecutors and agencies, sued by so many plaintiffs and claimants that it requires a scorecard just to remember them all.
His businesses went bankrupt repeatedly and multiple others failed. He was taken to court for stiffing his vendors, stiffing his bankers and even stiffing his own family. He avoided the draft during the Vietnam War and avoided paying any income taxes for years. He was forced to shell out tens of millions of dollars to students who accused him of scamming them, found liable for wide-scale business fraud and had his real estate firm convicted in criminal court of tax crimes.
Michael Blake, a former state assemblyman and a veteran of the Obama administration, joins a crowded field of candidates running against Mayor Eric Adams.
Democrat-led states successfully challenged policies during the first Trump administration. Now, they worry the new White House will be more prepared and less restrained.
The Jets and Giants are both having seasons that fans would rather forget. But they took very different routes to get there.
Donald Trump’s promise to carry out mass deportations has driven fearful immigrants to seek protections and advice.
Some in the party are considering alternative ways of assessing the federal budget as they prepare to extend temporary tax cuts passed in 2017.
Street side sheds and shanties helped keep restaurants afloat during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic. Now, for better or worse, new city rules are forcing their removal.
After enduring a host of election conspiracy claims in recent years, Ada County believes it has found a way to restore confidence in the vote-counting system.
The inquiry follows a New York Times report questioning the validity of more than $162,000 in matching funds given to Dao Yin, a Democrat of Queens.
Donald Trump has a record of pardoning favored companies from tariffs. Companies are once again lining up to try to influence him.
An atmospheric river that has brought damaging wind, rain and snow to the Pacific Northwest fed a storm spreading as far south as Los Angeles.
The world’s richest person, not known for his humility, is still learning the cutthroat courtier politics of Donald Trump’s inner circle — and his ultimate influence remains an open question.