Trump candidacy exposes problems for Republican Party | GARY COSBY JR.

The legal problems facing former President Donald Trump continue to accumulate with more and more damning revelations coming with each new set of charges and accusations.

Trump is already under 34 felony indictments in New York related to allegations that he paid hush money to a porn star he had sex with. He also faces 37 federal felony charges after he was accused of taking classified documents illegally at the end of his presidency then attempting to obstruct investigators and cover up what he had done.

Now comes word that a district attorney in Georgia is convening a grand jury to examine election tampering charges against Trump and another federal investigator has sent Trump a letter indicating he could be charged under three federal statutes in relation to his alleged efforts to illegally cling to power after losing the presidential election and the ensuing Jan. 6 fiasco. The charges being considered include conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Imagine, for just a moment, how Republicans would be reacting if these same charges and the possibility of charges were being leveled at a Democrat. Republican voters and lawmakers alike would be joined in a harmonious chant of “lock him up” from sea to shining sea. That is not the reaction of Republicans toward Trump.

The Trump ship is sinking fast. Remarkably, his supporters stand on the deck of this sinking ship enjoying after-dinner drinks and listening to music, much like the passengers on the Titanic did as she sank. The difference is the Titanic passengers knew the ship was going down, while Trump supporters seem blissfully ignorant. Trump is still far and away the leader among Republicans voters.

According to the website Morning Consult, poll results among potential Republican primary voters prefer Trump by a wide margin. Fifty-five percent of likely voters go for Trump while the next highest person on the list is Ron DeSantis, whom 20% prefer.

Those numbers are eye-opening. In fact, the numbers defy reason. Trump is obviously and deservedly in very hot water and could well be convicted of numerous state and federal crimes before the next election, yet such obvious problems don’t seem to deter Republican voters.

This points to a ridiculously serious problem, as much with Trump as with Republican voters who seem to have disregarded all that the party allegedly stands for to support a man who was a bad president to begin with. He was very fortunate to have had a good economy for the beginning of his presidency, but that doesn’t explain the current extraordinary level of conservative delusion relating to Trump.

Trump’s internal support points to a frightening level of deception, a deception Republican voters are willingly embracing. Conservative people want to believe Trump, perhaps because they seem to think that doing otherwise would somehow brand them as a liberal. Nothing could be farther from the truth, but such is the ability Trump has demonstrated to deceive the public. Trump is a master at manipulating people.

More: Jamea Harris homicide reveals toxic gun culture | GARY COSBY JR.

Trump supporters, given nothing but his baseless claims that the election was stolen, claims that were shown again and again to be untrue, staged an assault on the U.S. Capitol building. That assault threatened the lives of the vice president and members of Congress and actually cost the lives of several people, both in the throng and among the law enforcement officers who tried to defend the nation.

How then does Trump still have support when he did all these things in clear view of the public, literally on national television? That is what worries me and what should worry every single American.

Trump has cast his spell over his ardent supporters to such a degree that they have believed his lies, disregarded the fundamental principles of law and order that the Republican Party is supposed to hold dear, and continued to support and promote a man whose list of indictments reads like a gangster’s rap sheet.

Perhaps Trump’s wealth has allowed him to live a life that has largely been above the law. Maybe that mindset explains his conduct in office, but it fails to plumb the mindset of supporters who are simply blind to his misconduct. His wealth might have permitted him to live in such a way that laws were simply of no concern to him, but how have Republican voters ignored such obvious failings?

Trump places himself at the pinnacle of all things, even above his sworn oath to uphold and protect the Constitution. It seems obvious that he believes that what is good for Trump is good for America. How can conservative voters give such loyalty to a man who flouts the fundamental principles of conservatism, not to mention the laws of the United States?

Why conservatives still support this man leaves me scratching my head in dismay. The party that prides itself in supporting law and order and morality is supporting the man who has done more than any president I am aware of to shred those values.

Trump is a contradiction for conservatism. A party that supposedly supports morality and lawfulness is supporting the man who appears to be the most unlawful and immoral candidate available.

Gary Cosby Jr. is the photo editor of The Tuscaloosa News. Readers can email him at gary.cosby@tuscaloosanews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Trump candidacy exposes problems for Republican Party | GARY COSBY JR.