Special to USAfrica magazine (Houston) and USAfricaonline.com, the first Africa-owned, US-based newspaper published on the Internet.
By Chido Nwangwu. Follow on Twitter @Chido247
The bombshell report this evening of Thursday, June 8, 2023 that the immediate former President of the United States, Donald Trump, has been indicted regarding his handling of classified documents — after leaving office —is dominating tv news, print and social media.
This unpredictable turn will bring critical issues and additional factors into the Republican presidential 2024 primaries’ as well as in the national elections.
In the history of the United States, it is the first time a sitting or former Commander-in-Chief has faced federal charges.
“I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States,” Mr. Trump wrote on his own platform called Truth Social.
While Trump contemplates his uncertain, complicated future, his former Vice President Mike Pence decided to take on his controversial ex-boss Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Over the past 3 years, especially Mr. Pence has shown that is a man capable of controlling his emotions, even when the Trump instigated Republican radicals and right wing activists to set upon the congressional session at the Capitol. Trump jeopardized Pence’s life and his family’s security.
He has shown self-restraint. But it seems he has had enough of Trump. Hence his decision to formally make his
announcement on Wednesday laced with direct attacks and suggestive digs at the famously controversial Mr. Trump.
After several months and years of dilly-dallying or at best tip-toeing around the big elephant in the room by Mr. Pence, he decided a few days ago to state clearly that Trump deserves blame for the unconstitutional and unlawful efforts which sought to overturn the 2020 election during the January 6, 2021 insurrection.
Pence whose major base and active supporters draw from Conservatives and evangelical christians, pointedly said of the embattled Trump:
“Anyone who puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States, and anyone who asks someone else to put them over the Constitution should never be president of the United States, again.”
He rebuffed Trump’s schemes and pressure to stop the counting of the electoral votes, necessary, to certify the results of the election of Joe Biden. The evidently Trump-inspired mob of insurrectionists aware that Pence was in the U.S Capitol to complete the constitutional duties of his office were very violent and chanted “Hang Mike Pence!”
Pence, a former Governor of Indiana and ex-member of the United States Congress, claimed during his comments a few days ago: “I know we can beat Joe Biden.” Significantly, he said in Iowa where the Republicans/GOP what is characterized as the first-in-the-nation caucuses: “But we must resist the politics of personality and the siren song of populism unmoored to conservative principles.”
In a spectacular double-speak, Pence who turned 64 on Wednesday January 7, 2023, artfully added that he will “always be grateful for what President Trump did for this country” and proudly stood by former President Trump as his VicePresident “every single day when we made America great again.”
Politicians, prevarications and the art of being on the two sides of an issue. They have good company with economists who are famous for their omnibus qualifier: “on one hand, and on the other hand….”
Depending on who you ask, it is part of the beauty and dynamism of political strategies where there are no permanent enemies, but permanent interests.
Broadly, I underscore the fact that his main focus questioned the ideological truthfulness and reliability of Mr. Trump to conservative positions and ideals. Also, he raised issues regarding the former president’s efforts and statements, which offer some defense of the Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump did those even before and after Mr. Putin’s invasion, escalated subjugation, destruction and daily commital of War Crimes in the sovereign country of Ukraine. Putin is still seen and rated by some government officials as the biggest foe of the United States.
Trump benefits in a field of too many aspirants, IF he is still able to contest in 2024 — although he has since declared he is running for President.
Considerably at this time, the most serious threat to him capturing the ticket as flagbearer of the Republican Party for the next election of President of the United States will be, I’ll say: first, the disposition and outcome, of any substantial, potentially criminal outcome of the court cases and litigations he has around the country — especially those from the Department of Justice (DOJ). That’s outside the Rpublican Party.
However, inside the Republican Party, the racially polarizing political hustler, diversity insensitive and anti-historical facts dude who’s otherwise titled as the Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, ignorantly dismissed Russia’s decimation and War Crimes in Ukraine as a “territorial dispute.” This governor, who I’ll characterize as a mini Trump, reflects the state of the Republican Party in its headlong collapse into the pits of toxic ignorance, and destruction of some of its abandoned Lincolnesque values as a previously, credible counterweight to the other extreme liberalisms across the country.
One of Trump’s former allies, former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, is in the presidential contest, and has a message to the party members and Americans: “Tonight is the beginning of the case against Donald Trump.”
It’s easier said than done. Not so fast.
The divisive and cantankerous former President of the United States since Tuesday, November 15, 2022 “officially launched” his third campaign for the White House. “In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight 
announcing my candidacy for president of the United States…. America’s comeback starts right now.”
The issue is not merely declaring opposition to the cunning Trump. It is organizing and securing your team. He’s proven to be a cat with nine lives! Time will tell, soon….
• Dr. Chido Nwangwu, author of the forthcoming 2023 book, MLK, Mandela & Achebe: Power, Leadership and Identity., is Founder of the first African-owned, U.S-based newspaper on the internet, USAfricaonline.com, and established USAfrica in 1992 in Houston.He has appeared as an analyst on CNN, ALJazeera, SKYnews, and served as an adviser on Africa business to Houston’s former Mayor Lee Brown. Follow him on Twitter @Chido247
