Former President Donald Trump renewed his attacks against Attorney General Merrick Garland and special counsel Jack Smith late Sunday, decrying "prosecutorial misconduct" and "election interference," as well as questioning the timing of the charges against him as the 2024 presidential election nears.
The 2024 GOP front-runner's late-night Truth Social post was certainly not his first attack against the Justice Department, but its timing holds significance as Trump braces for a possible third indictment, believed to be related to Jan. 6, and polling has him continuing to be far ahead of the pack of other Republican presidential hopefuls.
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"Do you think that A.G. Garland, and Deranged Jack Smith, understand that we are in the middle of a major political campaign for President of the United States? Have they looked at recent poll numbers?" Trump questioned on the social media platform. "Why didn’t they bring these ridiculous charges years before - Why did they wait to bring them NOW - A virtually unheard of scenario?"
The former president has used his social media platform not only to criticize, lament, and target those involved (either directly or indirectly) in the investigations against him but also to get out ahead of new developments. The most recent example of this came when, last week, Trump said he received a letter notifying him that "I am a TARGET" of Smith's grand jury investigation.
Trump's post added that the time frame given to him to report to the grand jury "almost always means an Arrest and indictment" is forthcoming.
It will take time to know whether Trump's recent post decrying "prosecutorial misconduct" and "election interference" is just him expressing anger over what he sees as unfair treatment or whether it is a direct and calculated statement to try and direct attention in the direction he wishes ahead of a major development in the case(s) against him.
What is clear is that Trump is well-positioned among Republicans in recent polling, perhaps even further than many anticipated, as Gov. Ron DeSantis's (R-FL) star began to rise over the past year. According to a FiveThirtyEight poll as of Sunday, Trump leads Republican presidential candidates in 2024 primary polls at 50.8%, about the same as where he has been for the past four months, ever since seeing a spike in early April. DeSantis, on the other hand, sits at 19.4%, where he has generally fallen since late March.
But, as many have predicted for months, the bigger test for Trump will come in the general election, should he get there, against likely foe President Joe Biden. A poll conducted by the Harvard University Center for American Political Studies, as of Thursday, has Trump beating Biden by five points, and Vice President Kamala Harris by nine.
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One would be wise not to always read too much into Trump, or any politician's, social media posts. Social media is inherently fickle and typifies the short attention span of the modern age. But sometimes, the former president drops a hint as to what is coming, such as what he did last week and before a previous indictment.
All eyes will be on whether Trump is indicted for a third time in the coming days, and if he is, a swift response can be expected.