Within an 8 -day period, an assassination attempt was made on a former president and Republican presidential candidate, there was a ruling dismissing the documents case, the Republican National Convention (RNC) took place, and President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. Each event would warrant its own column.
I want to first focus on those who believe that Trump’s surviving the assassination attempt proves that G-d wants him to the next president. Not surprisingly, this is coming from those who even before the incident wanted Trump to become president. It is foolhardy for us to figure out why things happen. There could be many other reasons why this happened. For example, it was to avoid the carnage that would have occurred if Trump had been killed. His supporters would have blamed Biden and could have taken matters into their own hands to take revenge. There are plenty of gun-toting MAGA types who could do a lot of damage to Biden, Congress, and others. This could have been the third civil war. The first was the American Revolution (Loyalists vs. Patriots), and the second was what we Northerners call the Civil War. He could have been saved through the merit of his daughter Ivanka and her children. It could have been due to his merit of moving the American embassy to Jerusalem. It could be a warning to the country and to Trump that divisiveness has its consequences, and it is time to turn down the rhetoric. I have a few more and you can probably think of some more on your own. The point is that we do not know why this happened.
Then right before the RNC was held, District Court Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the document case because the Special Counsel lacked the authority to bring the proceeding. It did not come as a shock because it was clear since early on that she would do her best to make sure that this case would not go to trial before the election, if ever. Her reasoning is flawed and has not been followed by any other court, including one appellate court. You know it is bad when she has written many pages trying to prove that the language in the Supreme Court case US v. Nixon, which upheld the right of Special Counsel was dicta (a side point). Judge Cannon’s ruling will be reversed on appeal. Even if the case goes to the Supreme Court, the decision will be reversed. The only vote may be Justice Thomas, who gave Cannon the road map to dismiss the case. What is curious is the timing: It came out right before the RNC. This gave Trump the maximum benefit of the ruling. It gives fodder to those who think that Cannon is doing a quid pro quo for Trump who appointed her, or she is looking to curry favor so that she can move up to a circuit court or to the Supreme Court. There is no question that from day one she had a problem with the case. Was it an issue with the merits or some nefarious reason?
One of the themes of the convention was that they are the party of law and order, and crime is out of control. The irony is that one of the speakers, Peter Navarro, was released from prison the morning that he went to speak at the convention and the standard bearer Trump was convicted of 34 felonies and has 2 pending criminal cases besides the Cannon case. This is in addition to the Republican’s claim that the January 6 convicted and incarcerated defendants are hostages.
Another theme was unity. Trump, in his acceptance speech, which was the longest in presidential history, started off with a prepared speech about unity but after about 20 minutes, the true Trump came out. He had not learned a thing from his near-death experience and was the old Trump with personal attacks and lie after lie. He reminded many people why they do not like him.
Then came the Biden resignation. I think he waited because he wanted to do it after the convention. It must have been very hard to throw in the towel. You can understand why he would feel that if he beat Trump once before, he could beat him again. He may have been perplexed as to why every time Trump did something wrong or suffered a legal setback, he got stronger, yet when Biden made a mistake, the situation got worse. He may have thought that if many Americans seem to have selective amnesia when it relates to Trump, they will do the same for him. It is also hard as you age to admit that you cannot do it for another four years and it is time to let the next generation take over. Imagine if Trump was in the same position. He still has not accepted losing the 2020 election. He would have taken the Republican Party down with him because it has and always will be about him.
Trump’s acceptance speech may have started to switch the momentum away from him. Biden’s dropping out of the race will help make it stronger. There is finally enthusiasm in the Democratic Party and complaining coming from Republicans. Now Trump is the old guy with baggage. It looks like it may be VP Kamala Harris, who was endorsed by Biden. She would not only be the first woman president but part Asian president as well. It will be interesting if she gets the nod. I do expect it. Also, who will she pick for VP?
This was a consequential ten days in American history, the effects of which may not be known for a while.
Warren S. Hecht is a local attorney. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
