We’re told ad nauseam that the Democrats’ political persecution of former President Donald Trump was engineered to gin up sympathy among Republican primary voters and guarantee him the nomination. In the general election, however, independent voters, disgusted with Trump’s “lawless” behavior, would align with Democrats and President Joe Biden would cruise to victory.
There are some serious flaws in this logic and they’re just starting to manifest.
The spectacle of Trump’s motorcade winding its way to the Fulton County Jail last Thursday, followed by the release of his “defiant” mugshot instantly catapulted him to “legend” status. It may have already gained him the sympathy of independents and even some Democrats.
But it has most definitely elevated his status in the eyes of the black men who lined the street as the motorcade passed. They see the mugshot as a symbol of “the man” sticking it to “the people,” a feeling they are intimately familiar with.
And just a small percentage gain in support among this important group could turn the election.
On Friday, rappers Chief Keef and Lil Pump showed their support for Trump on social media. Lil Pump posted his own mugshot next to Trump’s on Instagram with the caption, “Free Trump.” Chief Keef posted a photo of Trump flashing a gang symbol, saying, “he good in da hood” and predicted that if Trump ever gets convicted, he would “run the prison.”
Podcaster and convicted felon Antoine Tucker shared a message of his own on X (formerly Twitter). “I want to say to the new world order and to the illuminati: Thank you very much for being stupid, dumb, mother f******. We appreciate the fact that you keep elevating my guy, Donnie, to Teflon Don. And as you seen his caravan ride through the hood, and you seen all the love he got, when I tell you I speak for the hood, I tell you this sincerely. We don’t like you anyway. We don’t like the government. The guy be f****** over the black race for the longest. And we watch you f*** with the only man that’s ever offered black people anything. This n**** want to give us $500 billion, you want to lock the n**** up. F*** you all. We jacking Trump. F*** out of here. Hah!”
Social media influencer @ImMeme0 said, “If that n**** Trump gets convicted of this crime, and can still run for president, I’m voting for his a**. I’m voting for that n****. I’m voting for him. …”
In a video that’s since gone viral, @TONYxTwo told a reporter: “Yes. … Look what happened to Martha Stewart. She caught that felony. She goes to all the cookouts. With Snoop Dog. She is endorsed. … Bro, Trump is a brother now. You go to jail in Zone 6 in Atlanta, you’re [inaudible]. They f***** up. N***** like n***** that went to jail. They believe in that shit. …”
In the 2020 election, Biden won 92% of the black vote compared to 8% for Trump.
A Fox News poll conducted Aug. 11-14 found that only 61% of black voters supported Biden compare to 20% for Trump. Likewise, a Quinnipiac poll released on Aug. 16 showed Biden with the support of 73% of black voters, compared to Trump, with 20%.
According to the Messenger, “August surveys from Emerson College, Harris X/The Messenger, and YouGov/The Economist also showed similar results.”
And these polls were taken before “the mugshot.”
The Democrats, craving a mugshot of the “lawless” Trump, may have just triggered a chain reaction they’ll never be able to stop.