Former US President Donald Trump faces the humiliation of being photographed, fingerprinted, and entering a plea to charges involving a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels. This makes him the first president in US history to be charged with a crime.
The legal perils now engulfing Trump are pushing him to new extremes, with barricades going up around the courthouse in New York. The charges stem from payments made by Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer, during the presidential campaign.
Despite this legal trouble, Trump launched his 2024 election campaign last November with an uncharacteristic low energy approach that steered clear of his stolen election lies. In fact, he insisted: “We’re going to keep it very elegant.”
However, after going unusually quiet for some time and embarking on small-scale campaign events while issuing policy proposals and hiring staff in early voting states; the trigger came two days after he became the first contender to hit the 2024 election trail. He delivered unremarkable speeches in early primary states such as New Hampshire and South Carolina.
Trump's current legal troubles could complicate his political ambitions moving forward. While he continues to deny any wrongdoing regarding hush money payments made during his presidential campaign; these recent developments can have serious consequences for his future political career.
As always in cases like this one though; only time will tell what happens next- but one thing is certain: Donald Trump is currently facing significant challenges on all fronts.