‘4 vs 4’: US presidential election pits an aging Biden against Trump's criminal indictments
ALSO READ: Why America’s political parties are so bad at winning elections But Trump has tried to leverage his legal woes -- treating his court appearances as if they were campaign rallies, complete with defiant, grievance-laden speeches before the media and cheering fans. Fist raised The speeches themselves aren't exactly presidential -- it's hard to imagine Abraham Lincoln lashing out at judges or smearing political opponents as "Marxist thugs" -- but Trump's loyal base enjoys his proclivity for incendiary rhetoric and personal grievance.
They are likely to see more of it, with jury selection beginning April 15 in Trump's trial for campaign finance violations in New York. "He likes to be able to play the role of a victim," says Todd Belt, a politics professor at George Washington University.
The strategy comes at a price. Trump has been buried under legal costs stretching into the hundreds of millions of dollars -- bills that he finances, in part, via campaign funds.
"It also takes him away from being able to do his MAGA rallies, get out among the people," says Belt. The contest is not set in stone until the parties' nominating conventions this summer, but since the rematch became all-but-inevitable weeks ago, Trump has held just one of his signature rallies, in Ohio.
ALSO READ: Donald Trump is selling Bibles for funds to pay legal bills His step back is unusual for a showman who -- despite his own many verbal slip-ups -- enjoys putting on a stiff gait and pretending to be confused as he mocks Biden, delighting supporters in packed arenas. Trump has long denigrated his rival as "Sleepy Joe," but Team Biden has been returning the compliment lately, cheekily appropriating a Trumpism to decry "Low Energy Don." Like Trump,
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