In recent months, Donald Trump has been trying out a new routine. At rallies and town halls across the country, he compares himself to Al Capone. “He was seriously tough, right?” Mr. Trump told a rally in Iowa in October, in an early rendition of the act. But “he was only indicted one time; I’ve been indicted four times.
The former president’s audacious embrace of a criminal persona flies in the face of conventional wisdom.
The evidence of Mr. Trump’s mobster pivot is everywhere. He rants endlessly about his legal cases in his stump speeches. On Truth Social, heabout having a bigger team of lawyers “than any human being in the history of our Country, including even the late great gangster, Alphonse Capone!” His team has used his mug shot — taken after he was indicted on a charge of racketeering in August — on T-shirts, mugs, Christmas wrapping, bumper stickers, beer coolers and even NFTs.
It is easy to see why gangster fables appeal to so many Republican voters today. They are stories of immigrant assimilation and success, laced with anti-immigrant sentiment and rivalry. Their heroes are creatures of the big city — those nests of Republican neuroses — who tame its excesses through force but never forget God or their family along the way.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
WSJ Opinion: Trump's First Trip to the Supreme CourtJournal Editorial Report: The former president may not be banned in Colorado, after all. Images: Dana Verkouteren via AP/AFP/Getty Images Composite: Mark Kelly
Read more »
Supreme Court opinion on the Trump 14th Amendment ballot caseThe Supreme Court ruled Monday that former President Donald Trump should appear on the ballot in Colorado.
Read more »
Opinion: Trump’s pernicious superpowerFrida Ghitis writes that Trump’s relentless disinformation campaign has proven astonishingly successful in creating a new reality for a large part of the electorate and that’s why he can be so hard to beat.
Read more »
Opinion: Dave Williams is abusing Colorado’s GOP — not for Trump but to help himselfIn the most flagrant misuse of his position, Dave Williams sent out a mail piece from the Colorado State GOP doubling down on his previous false claims, attacking his opponent, fellow conservative …
Read more »
Opinion: The one thing Biden and Trump agree onWith nearly eight months to go before the vote for president, the battle lines are clearly drawn between two men who lead bitterly divided factions that accuse the other of trying to tear down the vision of America each embraces.
Read more »
Opinion: If there’s one thing Trump is right about, it’s RepublicansFor the thousandth time, the Republican Party refused an off-ramp that would free itself from Donald Trump. As long as he’s around, it never will.
Read more »