Trump will believe an indictment can help him become president again. Can it?

During the years of Donald Trump’s presidency, you were never far away from knowing what he thought.

Whether it be through Twitter, statements or snippets from the White House lawn, the man who sought to style himself as Washington’s biggest outsider was constantly complaining about the political system that he says constrained him.

Having been forced to decamp to his own social network, Truth Social, in the wake of his stint in the White House – with the shadow of the shocking events of 6 January 2021 hanging over him – he really was on the outside looking in. But “The Trump Show” never really went away. His hold on significant parts of the Republican Party was too strong.

So here we are, Trump is back at centre stage. His term as the 45th president contained so many elements beyond the usual diplomatic norms that the word unprecedented was almost overused. But we really are in such territory now, with Trump becoming the first-ever former president to be indicted.

For many, this turn of events would mark the end of any political career, stopped dead in its tracks by the seriousness of events and the weight of history. But Trump has already shown his disregard for taking the dignified path.

This indictment, around Trump’s alleged role in a scheme to pay hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels, is historic. But there are still other separate investigations continuing, by two other levels of govermnment: the Fulton County, Georgia, district attorney and the Department of Justice.

The Georgia case is investigating what Trump or his allies may have done in efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential victory in the state. As for the Justice Department, the special counsel Jack Smith is looking into documents containing national defense information found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and into parts of the 6 January 2021 assault on the US Capitol.

These investigations are all distinct from each other, moving at their pace, but Trump is building them all into one narrative. One that became a familiar refrain during his time in the White House: Witch Hunt.

From trying to fundraise off his own prediction that he would face arrest over the Daniels case in New York, to members of his party coming out to try and minimise the case, Trump is rolling out every aspect of his political playbook from 2016.

The suggestion that “everyone is out to get him” highlights the Trump brand as the only one that can “drain the swamp” of Washington. He has repeatedly denied any suggestion of wrongdoing in any of the cases (the Daniels case is the only one at the stage of issuing any potential indictments).

There is no doubt that Trump is still a fundraiser, and that polls still have him as the favourite to be the Republican presidential nominee in 2024. But for America’s sake, we should hope he is wrong that he can this situation to his advantage.

Trump has never been shy of a public spectacle, the matra seems to be “make enough noise and you begin to control the narrative”. Parts of Trump’s supporter base are certainly fervent enough to make it appear to Trump that he can do that.

But, however secure Trump is in playing this outsider role, it is still unknown territory at the moment.

Based on his previous campaign, Trump will have little problem trying to swallow up the rest of the candidates in the circus around his situation. If they are talking about him, it feeds his narrative and stops them talking about the country at large.

Voters may tire of the baggage that Trump is carrying. Let’s hope so, as America deserves better.