Democrats Are Still Delusional About Trump

Six years into the Trump era in American politics, many of his critics still believe they can find a silver bullet to end it. On Wednesday, the House committee on January 6 filed a brief in a federal court in California that, depending on your interpretation, was either an attempt to compel documents from a reluctant witness or an omen of Donald Trump’s imminent imprisonment.

Many of Trump’s critics have once again leapt to believe that opaque legal developments might vanquish the former president, a familiar pattern since Robert Mueller became a household name in 2017. This hope not only attaches too, the proponents have given up on persuading their political opponents and are searching for an outside solution. But Trump’s worst offenses—including the Big Lie, the open attempt to steal the election, and earlier sins such as his attempted blackmail of Ukraine—are not (or are not primarily) crimes. The hope that a prosecution can solve a political problem is a false hope.