US risks sinking into disorder as Trump indicted, political system in disarray

Donald Trump Photo:VCG

After weeks of speculation, former US president Donald Trump, who is also running for the 2024 elections, was indicted in Manhattan on Thursday, making him the first former president to face criminal prosecution in US history.

Experts said this further revealed the dysfunction of the American political system amid increasingly extreme political polarization, warning of the possibility of more violent protests from Trump's followers.  

A grand jury in New York City voted Thursday to indict Trump. The specific charges against him are not yet known, but two people with knowledge of the matter told The New York Times that there are more than two dozen counts in the indictment.

The charges are expected to stem from a payment that was made to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, who in October 2016, during the final weeks of the presidential campaign, tried to sell her story of an affair with Trump, the New York Times reported.

Trump has been briefed on the process he will go through, and is expected to surrender next week, the New York Times said, citing people familiar with the discussions.

The indictment was seen as an unprecedented moment for the US that signals ever fiercer partisan struggles, according to analysts. 

The move also indicated that the polarized political and legal system is not bringing about order but chaos to the country, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Friday. 

Experts also warned of a normalization of indicting former presidents in the US as politics of retaliation has become routine, with political and legal tools being further weaponized to attack political opponents.  

Members of the media gather outside Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, on March 31, 2023. Former US President Donald Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury a day before, a historic reckoning after years of investigations into his personal, political and business dealings and an abrupt jolt to his bid to retake the White House. Photo: VCG

Systemic dysfunction

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