Former President Trump, who's also a 2024 presidential candidate, was indicted Tuesday in New York City for alleged business fraud. Will that change Michigan politics?
Prominent Republicans from across the country have stood with Trump. So, has the president’s die-hard base. But Peter Wielhouwer, an associate professor of political science at Western Michigan University, said that’s not the full picture.
“Let's be clear that what's going on within the Michigan GOP, as well as parties all over the country and nationwide, is that there's a conflict going on between two camps within the Republican Party,” Wielhouwer said. “You got those on the pro-Trump side, and you've got those on the ‘let's move-on from Trump’ side.”
Wielhouwer said it’s too early to predict which side will win in Michigan.
“It does seem currently that the pro-Trump people seem to have the upper hand, even though many of their most, their broadest candidates’, statewide candidates in the 2022 elections were soundly defeated.”
One of those defeated candidates was election denier Kristina Karamo. She lost her bid for the Michigan Secretary of State’s office in November, but hasn’t conceded. In February, the Michigan GOP elected her to lead the party.
Wielhouwer said the indictment gives Democrats a “fantastic” chance to raise money. But he said the Democrats won’t be the only party likely to see people mobilize.
Wielhouwer said that over the years Trump has “honed” skills to gain support and raise money off of his own perceived persecution. And time is on his side to help him do that. Trump’s next hearing isn’t until December. The trial will just be getting started as the 2024 campaign heats up.
Wielhouwer said all the attention will likely boost Trump in 2024 and increase his chances of winning next year’s Republican presidential nomination. He predicts that whenever the trial ends, most likely sometime after the 2024 election, Trump will have beaten the criminal charges filed by the New York District Attorney’s Office.
“He's not going anywhere anytime soon. And because I think that this is likely to end up in his favor, ultimately, he'll say that he beat back the nasty libs from New York who hate you. So, he'll be successful and I think this probably increases his chances of winning the nomination in 2024.”
