The Best Courtroom Drama on TV Is the 2024 Presidential Race

Forget “Law and Order” — the best courtroom drama on television is the 2024 presidential race. The campaign is shaping up as a battle of indictments and investigations rather than a contest of ideas and innovations. Instead of moving the nation forward, the presidential election is stuck in the legal muck.

Tuesday was a busy day on the legal and political dockets. Judge Aileen Cannon scheduled former President Donald Trump’s federal trial on 37 felony charges related to his retention of classified documents after leaving office, including alleged violations of the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice, to begin in August. President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden pled guilty to misdemeanor charges related to failing to pay his taxes and a felony charge of possessing a gun while using illicit drugs (which he can get dismissed after two years of probation), according to court papers filed by the U.S. Attorney for Delaware.

Now that we have survived the first wave of fallout from the Trump federal indictment bomb, the big question is how Trump’s trials and tribulations will impact the presidential race.

The early returns indicate that Trump has solidified his hold on the Republican Party. Trump once famously said, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters.” The first national survey conducted after his indictment in federal court for The Messenger proved him to be correct, apparently— at least with the current charges he’s facing.

After he was arrested and arraigned in the classified documents case, he still holds a 3-to-1 lead over his nearest rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Not only has Trump held his ground, but none of the other GOP candidates have gained any ground since they kicked off their campaigns.

Trump’s strength in the Republican presidential primary is remarkable after a series of legal setbacks that include indictments by a Manhattan grand jury facing more than 30 counts for alleged felony business fraud, as well as a jury verdict that found him liable for battery and defamation of character in the E. Jean Carroll case.Carroll is seeking further damages as Trump has continued repeating defamatory claims since the verdict, including on national television.

The legal drama isn’t over for Trump. If the Trump classified documents trial starts on time on Aug. 14, it will be a busy month since the first Republican presidential debate kicks off in Milwaukee on Aug. 23. His Manhattan trial for charges of business fraud will occur next March in the middle of the GOP primary season.

And the legal hits keep on coming. Agrand jury in Washington, D.C., is examining Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, capitol insurrection. Meanwhile, a grand jury in Fulton County, Ga. is looking into his attempt to manipulate 2020 election returns in the Peachtree State.

Trump’s legal troubles are a godsend to Biden, whose approval rating is underwater despite creating an economy with rising job growth and a declining inflation rate. But now the Biden family faces its own legal scrutiny with Hunter Biden’s plea and ongoing House GOP inquiries, which have been full of innuendo and empty of evidence trying to prove the president was complicit in any illegal business dealings.

Joe Biden’s public reaction to his son’s plea agreement should be that he loves his son and is glad that Hunter took responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty. The subtext for this response would be that his son owned up to his failures — while Trump continues to deny his own alleged crimes.

The president has an advantage here because the GOP has failed to implicate him in his son’s business dealings.

Republicans have already attacked Hunter Biden’s plea agreement, and the deal for probation rather than jail time will fuel right-wing suspicion that he got off easy. The Trump and Hunter Biden legal controversies will galvanize both political bases and likely leave independents disenchanted and disillusioned with American politics.

The triumph of indictments over ideas this campaign season is a loss for all Americans. The presidential election should be an opportunity for the candidates to advance their solutions to the problems that challenge our great nation’s future.

The ravages of climate change pose grave health risks and economic losses. Economic innovation and intense international competition threaten our economy. Racial problems beckon as the U.S. makes the transition from a majority white to a majority non-white nation.

President Biden has used his tenure in office to address these significant challenges to our future without any help from the Republican Party. He will need a second term with Democratic congressional control to make the changes necessary to meet them head-on.

Hopefully, the president can rise above GOP scandals and use his reelection effort to awaken the nation with a call to action to move the country forward.

Brad Bannon is a Democratic pollster and CEO of Bannon Communications Research. He also hosts the “aggressively progressive” political podcast, “Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon.”