The world is watching with interest the unfolding of the latest chapter in the Donald Trump saga—a former President of the United States getting arrested and facing 136 years in prison if convicted. Some see in this the robustness of the US judicial system, where the world’s most important democracy does not even spare a former President if he is found to have indulged in any wrongdoing. Those who revile him are raising a toast in anticipation of Trump being locked up for life, while Trump supporters are outraged, and even those Republicans opposed to him are rallying round in support, ready to give him a second shot at the party nomination for the Presidency. Ironically, Trump’s worst moment may also catapult him past his rivals to become the Republican candidate for US President. Talk about a tale full of twists and turns. But to neutral observers the issue is not really about supporting or opposing Trump as a person or President. For India, to give an instance, it does not matter which party the US President belongs to; it has to do business with whoever the US President is. The issue is about the direction that the US is headed. This is of utmost importance at a time China is waiting to overtake the US as the sole superpower of the world and refashion nations with Chinese Communist characteristics.
It is not a happy situation when the judiciary of the “most consequential” democracy of the world is seen as partisan and politically motivated. The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, who is pursuing the Trump case, is being accused of weaponising “the legal system to advance a political agenda”, thus turning “the rule of law on its head”, according to Ron DeSantis, the Governor of Florida and a possible Trump rival in the race for the nomination of Republican Presidential candidate. According to DeSantis, “The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent.” Even if this statement is disregarded as partisan, reports are coming that the DA had made locking up Trump one of his main campaign promises, which places the current case in a firmly political domain. It is almost as if Trump has to be punished for daring to become President, and must not be given the chance to repeat the same mistake. Reports also say that the DA’s “extreme left” staff is now busy deleting their social media posts expressing their hatred for Trump over the years. To many observers, this adds a definitely ideological shade to the whole case. To make matters worse, even some media outlets not seen as pro-Trump are wondering if Bragg has a case at all, given that the best he has been able to do is indict him for an alleged extramarital affair with a porn star. Can a former President of the US be prosecuted and sent to jail for 136 years for the crime of paying hush money to a porn star? There is more to it. The judge presiding over the case, Acting New York County Supreme Court Justice, Juan Manuel Marchan has been found to be a donor to Biden and anti-Republican causes in 2020. His daughter worked with Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign in the same year. It is known that appointments in the US judiciary are all political in nature. Even Trump had appointed Supreme Court Justices, who went on to overturn the Roe v Wade judgement, thus outlawing abortion, which was one of the lowest moments in US judicial history. Hence, there is something fundamentally wrong with a judicial system where political parties can play fast and loose with the process of justice delivery. That such polarising judgements are coming or that the courts are getting peopled with those who belong to extreme ideological or partisan corners, is a manifestation of how polarised the US social and political space has become. This is not a good sign as it chips away the trust people have in democratic institutions. Take the example of the American media. It has become so partisan, that the neutral ground has started vanishing, accosted from both sides by the left and the right. This clash is seen at the social level too, with the extreme-left woke population trying to dominate the discourse, thus marginalising traditional views, values and communities—cancelling people and institutions if they do not fall in line.
Seen in a broader context, who gains amid this? China, which is exploiting these fault lines and presenting its Communist-style oppressive homogeneity as a better alternative compared to chaotic democracies. It’s not for nothing that French President Emmanuel Macron is headed to Beijing to discuss peace in Ukraine. It’s a different matter that it’s a misguided mission. But the underlying message is clear—it is of an America out of joint, a nation that is losing its moral authority and ability to lead the world, and it’s China that is rising. Sadly, the US is increasingly becoming a caricature of all the democratic values it claims it upholds. This is not good for freedom and all the other qualities associated with it.