- Like Hillary, Like Harris, Americans Wait For First Woman President Continues
- Akinyemi Faults Trump’s Victory, Says America Will Regret Re-electing Trump
- Tinubu, World Leaders Hail Trump’s Stunning Comeback
Facing litigation on several fronts, due to be sentenced in a felony case on November 26, 2024, the emergence of Donald Trump as America’s 47th President has been greeted with mixed feelings.
Legal experts believe that his victory over Kamala Harris means he will likely be able to delay, or end, all of the criminal proceedings that have been lodged against him.
But he is still liable in a handful of high-profile civil cases, where he has been ordered to pay combined penalties of over $570 million.
“In theory, there should be no effect” from Trump’s election on those civil matters, former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told CNBC.
“It’s well established that while a sitting president can’t be prosecuted, he can face civil cases,” Rahmani said.
Trump has said he plans to quickly fire his own Department of Justice prosecutor, special counsel Jack Smith, who has spent the last two years mounting serious criminal cases against the former president in two federal courts.
Both of those cases had already been tripped up by prior court rulings. Smith’s Washington, D.C., case charging Trump with illegally trying to overturn the 2020 election was effectively narrowed and delayed by a Supreme Court ruling that granted ex-presidents presumptive immunity for their official acts in office.
Smith is currently working to revive his other case charging Trump with mishandling classified documents and obstruction after it was dismissed in July by Florida federal Judge Aileen Cannon.
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Those cases are now all but guaranteed to be scrapped entirely, either under pressure from Trump’s legal team or by Smith’s team voluntarily closing up shop.
“Now that Trump has won, his criminal problems go away,” Rahmani said.
“It’s well established that a sitting president can’t be prosecuted, so the election fraud case in D.C. District Court will be dismissed, and the DOJ will abandon its Eleventh Circuit appeal of the dismissal of the classified documents case,” he said.
A state-level criminal case in Georgia, alleging Trump illegally meddled in that state’s 2020 election, is also on ice. That case has already been put on hold as Trump seeks to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis due to a romantic relationship she had with a lead prosecutor.
Whether or not Willis is allowed to stay on, her case may be postponed for the next four years, in accordance with longstanding federal guidelines that sitting presidents are immune from prosecution.
Meanwhile, like Hillary Clinton in 2016, Kamala Harris had a shot at becoming the first woman to occupy the Oval Office but stumbled at the final hurdle meaning the world’s greatest democracy will have to wait for at least another four years to get its first female president.
On both occasions that America had a female contender, Donald Trump trumped them in these historic defeats with many observers also saw misogyny as a factor.
In their duelling campaigns, Harris and Trump laid out starkly different visions for women’s status and rights.
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Trump, who has faced multiple accusations of sexual assault he denies, sought to broadcast a hypermasculine image, appearing alongside mixed martial artists and offering praise for autocratic world leaders.
He and his campaign surrogates also made multiple comments that were criticized as insulting or contemptuous of women.
He called Harris “crazy” and “mentally disabled”, and claimed she would be “like a play toy” for other world leaders if elected.
His running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, doubled down on a quip he made in 2021 about “childless cat ladies” running the country, saying “I’ve got nothing against cats.”
Trump also presented himself as a “protector” of women, saying he would protect them whether they “like it or not.”
Harris by contrast relied heavily on female celebrities such as Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga and Oprah Winfrey, betting that they would help her reach even conservative women voters.
Harris did not campaign openly on the fact that she would have been the first female president of the United States.
But she made the defence of women’s rights, and abortion in particular, one of the cornerstones of her campaign.
In another development, a Professor of Political Science, Bolaji Akinyemi, on Wednesday faulted the emergence of Trump as the President-elect of the United States of America.
Akinyemi, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, said the US has disgraced itself by re-electing Trump as the 47th US President.
“See how far the US has disgraced itself and disappointed the rest of the world in the electoral decision it took last night,” he said on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
During the show, the diplomat claimed that Trump’s Democratic rival and incumbent Vice President, Kamala Harris, has been making efforts to congratulate Trump.
He criticised the President-elect for not picking Harris’ call, questioning his ability to unite an already divided nation.
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Akinyemi stated, “Do you know that Kamala Harris has been trying to get in touch with him to congratulate him and she hasn’t succeeded, he hasn’t picked up her call.
“It is a routine procedure that the loser in a presidential election would call the winner to congratulate him and offer a hand of friendship and cooperation and Trump has refused to pick that call.
“She still has not been able to reach him. Does that sound like somebody who intends to unite America?”
The diplomat described the election as a competition between light and darkness, stressing that Americans would later regret their decision to re-elect Trump.
78-year-old Trump won the US presidential election after defeating Kamala Harris in a stunning political comeback that will send shock waves across the world.
Trump is the first president in more than a century to win a non-consecutive second term.
He is also the only person to be elected as a convicted felon — he will face sentencing in a New York court for fraud on November 26.
Already 78, Trump is on course to break another record as the oldest-ever sitting president during his four-year term. He will surpass Biden who is set to step down in January at the age of 82.
In a related development, world leaders including Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Wednesday, November 6, 2024 congratulated him over his victory at the polls.
In a statement by Bayo Onanuga, his special adviser on information and strategy, Tinubu said he looks forward to strengthening the ties between Nigeria and the United States “amid the complex challenges and opportunities of the contemporary world”.
The Nigerian leader added that Trump “will bring the world closer to peace”.
“Together, we can foster economic cooperation, promote peace, and address global challenges that affect our citizens,” Tinubu said.
“Trump’s victory reflects the trust and confidence the American people have placed in his leadership.”
The president also congratulated Americans on their commitment to democracy.
French President Emmanuel Macron was the first to call him “President Donald Trump.”
Macron said he was ready to work with the US vote frontrunner “with respect and ambition” like “we managed to do for four years.” In a post on X, Macron said that the relationship with Trump would “take account of your convictions, and mine,” adding: “For more peace and prosperity.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also hailed Trump’s “impressive victory” in the US elections. “I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to the ‘peace through strength’ approach in global affairs. This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer,” Zelensky said, in a statement on social media.
NATO chief Mark Rutte congratulated Trump and said his return to power would help the alliance. “His leadership will again be key to keeping our Alliance strong. I look forward to working with him again to advance peace through strength through NATO,” Rutte said, in a statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Trump’s likely election a new beginning in the US-Israel alliance. “Congratulations on history’s greatest comeback! Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America. This is a huge victory!” said Netanyahu, in a statement issued by his office.
Earlier, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a firm Trump supporter, was the first EU leader to comment on the US election. “Good morning Hungary! On the way to a beautiful victory,” Orban wrote on Facebook early on Wednesday, accompanied by emojis of Hungarian and US flags. The nationalist premier enjoys warm relations with his “good friend” Trump, whom he has visited twice this year, often expressing hope that he would return to the US presidency.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Trump, adding that he was looking forward to working with the vote frontrunner. “Heartiest congratulations my friend @realDonaldTrump on your historic election victory,” Modi wrote, on the social media platform X, adding: “As you build on the successes of your previous term, I look forward to renewing our collaboration.”
