If you happened to follow the news this week, you were probably aware that former President Donald Trump was indicted by crusading, soft-on-crime Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on 34 charges of falsifying business records.
Trump turned himself in to prosecutors Tuesday and was arraigned. He returned to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida later that evening to deliver an impassioned speech eviscerating Bragg and the various other prosecutors around the country who he accuses of engaging in a witch hunt.
As I wrote, I thought it was a strong speech in which he effectively laid out his complaints about the apparent two-tiered justice system in this country—one tier for Hillary Clinton, Hunter Biden, and the like, and a different, far-harsher tier for Republicans.
On Friday, the GOP front-runner for the 2024 presidential nomination decided to use his arrest as… a campaign video. It’s definitely a novel approach—I’m pretty sure former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich didn’t use his jail stint as campaign fodder; nor did Hillary tout her husband’s legal woes as reasons to vote for her.
Here’s The Donald being The Donald, courtesy of the Trump War Room on Twitter:
NEW VIDEO: “The only crime that I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it. And now, these radical left lunatics want to interfere with our elections by using law enforcement.” pic.twitter.com/GAtnkFvbVv
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) April 6, 2023
The slickly-produced, 56-second spot starts with thundering music and the voices of Fox News personalities Sean Hannity and Gregg Jarrett, with Hannity blasting Bragg’s “idiotic, small-minded prosecution ” that will likely “backfire,” and Jarrett saying that the indictment is a “persecution disguised as a prosecution.”
NY Post legal analyst Andrew C. McCarthy chimes in, declaring that he “would dismiss it [the indictment] on its face because it fails to state a crime.” Their comments are played over images of the American flag and the New York City courthouse, as Trump arrives in his motorcade.
The music ramps up as Trump’s voiceover runs over footage of “Trump 2024” flags and enthusiastic supporters. The words come from his Tuesday speech:
The only crime that I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it. And now, these radical left lunatics want to interfere with our elections by using law enforcement.
We. Can’t. Let. That. Happen.
With all of this being said, and with a very dark cloud over our beloved country, I have no doubt that nevertheless we will Make America Great Again.
The polished, Hollywood-style spot is certainly well-done and dramatic, and dovetails with his fiery speech Tuesday evening. For Trump supporters, it’s red meat and looks like it could have been made by the Top Gun: Maverick producers. For Never Trumpers, it’s more proof in their minds that he’s unhinged and prone to wearing tinfoil hats, and claiming that everyone’s out to get him.
Love Trump or hate him, however, he has a point. As the great Catch-22 author Joseph Heller wrote, “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.”
Pundits on all sides have questioned Bragg’s charges, with very few of them except for the Rachel Maddows of the world opining that this indictment isn’t nakedly political. As RedState‘s Jeff Charles points out, Trump’s support among Republicans has actually surged since news of the indictment broke.
Trump’s ad will be loved by some, despised by others, but one thing is for sure—he took note when he heard the phrase, “When God gives you lemons, make lemonade.”
