The FBI raid on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence was the main topic of conversation on the Sunday political talk circuit. The discussion varied on each show but mostly consisted of whether or not Trump broke the law. Predictably, the opinions were separated along political lines. Republicans felt Trump was innocent and a victim of a weaponized FBI, while Democrats felt he committed criminal acts. Also discussed were the ramifications of the raid on the 2024 presidential election.
The truthful answer, however, is that by the 2024 presidential election, most people will have forgotten about the raid. For example, the Mueller investigation concluded in March 2019 and essentially showed there was not any collusion between Trump and Russia. By the 2020 election, it was barely even mentioned during the election.
People are outraged now, but we are about 27 months from that election, and plenty of things will happen between now and then. Heck, at the rate we are going, plenty of things will happen in the next 27 days, let alone 27 months. It’s too far away to make any substantial and legitimate impact on the election.
This runs counter to what many of the “experts” were saying this week. Consider some of the statements from former government officials and political pundits.
Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former White House communications director during the Trump administration, claimed that the raid could have handed Trump the presidency. During an appearance last week on CNN’s New Day, she said, “I’m hoping it goes beyond simply not complying with some archiving laws, or DOJ just handed Donald Trump the Republican nominee and potentially the presidency.”
Many other political pundits echoed these sentiments on other talk shows and on social media. But they are all wrong.
Thinking the raid will have any lingering effect by 2024 is an incredibly imprudent opinion. Quite possibly, it might matter if the election was this year. However, by 2024, the emotions from the raid will primarily be an afterthought. Any political benefit Trump may have gained from this raid will have evaporated.
People are angry today, and they should be. By all the information available so far, it seems like vast government overreach and a weaponized Department of Justice looking to eliminate the future political prospects of Trump. Unfortunately, today’s anger will not last until November 2024.
Talking about the raid triggers emotions today and gets viewers to click and tune in to television shows. By then, the raid on Mar-a-Lago will have no meaningful effect on how people vote. And this is especially true if the economy continues to flounder, inflation continues to rise, and crime continues to soar.
