A preview of coming distractions

The Trump verdict tells us all we need to know about a possible second term

Donald Trump has a very long history of skirting, bending, and breaking laws and regulations. This was never a secret but rather common knowledge across the various landscapes and communities where he primarily operated over the years. The verdict was universal: do business with this man and you will be ripped off and/or tainted.

So, hardly a surprise that, once he started running for president, Trump became a huge target for ambitious prosecutors and politicians (how else to describe someone willing to go after a future/existing/former POTUS?). Of course that makes all this “political,” but when your present such clear and overwhelming vulnerabilities, this is to be expected. The Republicans have gone after Biden with equal zeal but with far less success, so his supporters whining on about “politics” seems self-delusional: this is part and parcel of the Trump package and weird appeal as he thrives and survives on such nonstop chaos.

Thus, throughout all these years, Trump has given his opponents an abundance of opportunities to work toward such ends, befitting his long history and uberlitigious behavior/mindset.

Many seek to blame Trump’s current slate of legal predicaments on our hyper-polarized political system and yet, we can easily look back on Obama and say, a president can certainly still navigate such times with a very clean record and reputation. Frankly, if not for the family/political disaster that is Hunter Biden, I could say the same thing about Joe.

But with Trump, there is always a there there. He cheats and breaks laws in the same manner as he prevaricates: obsessively and beyond any logical near-term requirements. It’s simply how he is built. We all know that. The world knows that. His true supporters know that but consider it an acceptable trade-off for his willingness to pursue certain culture wars — none of which, BTW, he actually believes in.

The rest of the GOP establishment simply fear him, knowing he can — by extension — have them forced from office.

So what to make of the dozens of indictments and now almost three-dozen felony convictions?