For anyone but a Trump cultist, it would be Occam’s razor – the principle that says that the simplest explanation for something is most likely correct – attributed to William of Occam. Of course, H.L. Mencken, centuries later, observed that for every complex problem there is a solution that is straightforward, easy to understand, and wrong.
So, how does a Trump loyalist explain 78 established criminal charges brought against Trump in three different jurisdictions and now joined by an additional indictment that adds 13 new charges in still another jurisdiction? Occam’s razor would lead everyone, but the dumbest Trump cultist, to conclude that Trump is simply a crook – a common criminal who engaged in widespread criminal behavior during his first campaign, during his presidency, up to the very end.
But to a true Trump loyalist, he would be a victim framed by an unfair legal system. That’s te same legal system that brings charges against ordinary felons, murderers, drunk drivers, and other unsavory types every day. Imagine that!
Trump’s entire life has been one long crime spree. He’s been a flim-flam artist qua con man, a welcher, a self-dealer, a womanizer (actually not a crime but despicable nonetheless), and a mob boss. For the ordinary man, having 91 criminal charges in four different venues, is enough to conclude that the accused is likely also guilty. But that’s just me.
For the true believers of Trump’s rantings, he is a modern Robin Hood or Messiah – an outlaw with a popular following. Jack Smith must therefore be the Sheriff of Nottingham. The only thing wrong with this simile is that Robin is said to have stolen from the rich to give to the poor whereas Trump has stolen from everyone in order to line his own pockets.
Sigh, even a cleaver won’t be enough to sway the enthralled.