Trump ducked criminal charges – right into the most powerful office in the world | Sidney Blumenthal

In evading legal consequences for his actions, Trump was handed a chillingly simple strategy: just run for president again

Donald Trump's most vital campaign did not involve his political consultants, the hysteria of his rallies, the paranoid TV spots about migrant murderers and transgender bogeymen, his blathering on bro" podcasts or the prancing of a hopped-up Elon Musk. Nor was it about a garbage can in the ocean, eating pets or divine intervention.

Trump's vulnerability was always at the forefront of his mind. He knew he could have been eliminated at crucial moments before election day. He was anxious about more than an assassination. He understood that his most threatening adversary was the criminal justice system. Trump had to get away with his crimes to survive. The making of the president required the unmaking of justice.