To paraphrase the great showman P.T. Barnum, after a jury in New York declared former President Donald J. Trump (R) guilty, guilty, and guilty again and again and again, etc., Trump might have thought, “I don’t care what the biased jury says about me as long as they spell my name right.”  And the jury and the hordes of media, which ghoulishly shrieked the verdict, spelled his name so accurately that, proving Barnum was once again correct when he observed, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity,” campaign contributions for a Trump presidency poured in so heavily, to the tune of $34.8 million in just a few hours after the verdict that his campaign website crashed.  As of this moment, it is up and accepting contributions.

Although presently the 2024 presidential race between presumptive Republican nominee Donald J. Trump and presumptive Democrat nominee Joseph R. Biden is this close — i.e., essentially tied — much can change in the months until the election.

And of course there is election fraud, which can alter the outcome, no matter the polls.  Although both parties are known to commit such unmentionables, Democrats seem to do it more often as these admittedly biased examples from the Heritage Foundation, the New York Post (also here), the Association of Mature American Citizens, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office demonstrate.

And there are other legal tricks that can swing elections — e.g., media bias. 

And more.  Stay tuned.  Remain alert.  And remember New York Yankees outstanding catcher and even more insightful philosopher Yogi Berra’s accurate understanding of life: “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”  I repeat: stay tuned, remain alert.  And yes, vote!

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.