OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A Democratic lawmaker and rising star within the party told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt he has concerns about trial dates regarding former President Donald Trump as the 2024 campaign season heats up.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) told Hewitt that the leading GOP presidential candidate’s legal troubles should not “compromise” his ability to campaign.
His comments came after U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan set a March 4 date for Trump’s Jan. 6-related trial to begin, which is one day before the “Super Tuesday” primaries.
Though the lawmaker noted the trial date could still actually be moved, Hewitt said it represented a “terrible insult to our idea, our fundamental commitment to fair proceedings” and asked Khanna if he agreed.
The Democrat first acknowledged the importance of the timing in the Jan. 6 case specifically.
“Well, I’m not sure that that’s going to be the actual date at the end of the day. There’s appeals, there’s an ability to move it. I mean, let’s see what happens. So, but I’m not, I’m a member of Congress. It’s not for me to make the decisions on where the trial dates are going to happen,” said Khanna.
“My instinct on all of this is they’re not going to have trials in the middle of something that’s going to compromise a candidate’s ability who has real traction to have a fair fight. I just don’t see that happening in our country,” he claimed.
“I am just amazed that we have four prosecutors who are Democrats running four cases in four different jurisdictions,” Hewitt responded. “I guess Jack Smith is one prosecutor doing two cases, and that blue America doesn’t seem to understand that red America thinks this is a complete setup job. Do you understand my concerns about this and how it looks?”
“Well, look, I talk to, obviously, Republican colleagues, and they feel that the timing of it is one which, where Trump, where the charges are too far,” Khanna said. “I believe that you have to follow the law, and some of the conduct alleged is very, very, very serious. And you can’t just say okay, because someone was president or someone is a candidate, that you’re above the law.
“Everyone is under the law, and that these allegations, the evidence needs to be pursued. But what we’re discussing is the timing. And I do think we need to make sure that in the timing — if Trump does emerge as the Republican nominee — that it does not compromise the ability to have a robust campaign schedule,” he continued.
“And I imagine that the courts will take that into consideration if he is the nominee. You know, he may not be the nominee. I mean, that’s still, that has to be determined,” he added.
Trump is leading all other GOP presidential contenders by substantial amounts in nearly all recent polls. In fact, Trump is statistically ahead of President Joe Biden in four of the most recent national surveys.
“The country’s frustration with inflation and wariness toward the idea of Vice President Kamala Harris being an 80-year-old’s heartbeat from the presidency are two of the many drags on President Biden’s reelection chances,” Democratic pollsters Douglas Schoen and Carly Cooperman wrote in a Monday column published online by The Hill.
And though there are a myriad of problems and issues creating political headwinds for the octogenarian president, the economy is the number one concern among a majority of voters and, specifically, their own personal economic situations.
“Inflation fatigue has fostered widespread economic pessimism,” Schoen and Cooperman wrote. “Only a third of voters (33 percent) believe the U.S. economy is headed in the right direction, while most (58 percent) say it’s on the wrong track.”
They added: “In addition, voters are nearly twice as likely to say that their personal financial situation has worsened over the last year (42 percent) rather than improved (22 percent).”
