Jailhouse or White House

Donald Trump is the first sitting or former U.S. president to ever be indicted, or formally accused, of committing a crime on felony charges.

Trump, who remains the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, denies any wrongdoing in the 91 state and federal charges against him. It is impossible to know if he will actually be convicted or if Trump is worried about that possibility. But even people within his own Republican party claim Trump is only running for president to avoid jail time. The combined maximum sentences could be close to 700 years if he was convicted on every charge, which is highly unlikely (Forbes).

Let’s take a look at the charges—and the math.

—In the State of New York, Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsifying documents, including during his 2016 presidential campaign. Maximum sentence: 135 years

—The classified documents case involves Trump’s mishandling of national security documents when he left office in January of 2021. When the Justice Department requested these papers be returned from Trump’s home in Florida, they were denied access. This is called obstruction and the penalty is severe. Maximum sentence: 400 years

—Charges for his federal election investigation include conspiracy to defraud the U.S., and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding during his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, which he lost by million votes to President Joe Biden (Forbes). Maximum sentence: 55 years

—In the State of Georgia, Trump was charged with efforts to unlawfully undo his election loss in Georgia in 2020, where he called the Republican secretary of state and pressured him to “find 11,790 votes, which is one more than we have.” The conversation was recorded (NYT). Maximum sentence: 76.5 years

Perhaps surprisingly, perhaps not, Trump’s voter base remains devoted to him and his poll numbers keep climbing with each new indictment (NPR). But it will be more difficult to hit the campaign trail while he is sitting in court for hearings, which he will most likely be required to do. Even with a private plane, the logistics won’t be easy.

But will he ever spend even a single day behind bars? If he is elected president, Trump would most likely pardon himself of every federal conviction. Though, the former president may not escape from any state sentences so easily.

A rematch of Biden-Trump appears inevitable in November of 2024. The voters will be the ultimate jury. If Trump is convicted and sentenced, there is nothing in the Constitution to keep him from serving as president—from prison—if elected.

To say these are unprecedented times is an understatement. This extremely novel moment with a former US president facing four indictments, demonstrates the extremely agitated political world in which we are living. This has never before happened in U.S. history. Such behavior is a disgrace to the American people and the system which represents the very position of president. (485)