The 'real problem' for the former president is outlined as he faces an agonizing wait for the nomination

Former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton says the acquittal of Donald Trump would mark his fate as the Republican candidate for the US presidency.

It comes as the former US president said he expects to be arrested in a few days, as porn star Stormy Daniels allegedly received a hush money payment ahead of the 2016 election.

In a post on his Truth Social website, Trump called the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office “corrupt” as a grand jury weighed whether he should face charges.

Speaking to GB News, John Bolton said Trump faces an agonizing wait to find out if he can win the Republican nomination for president.

Donald Trump faces an agonizing wait to find out if he has a chance to be the Republican nominee, says John Bolton

Reuters/GB News

He told Nigel Farage: “Trump faces a number of potential criminal charges. I think anyone who has watched any of them will say that the Stormy Daniels case is the least important.

“If a prosecutor was handling all of this, this would be the last case filed. We have a federal system, the Georgia prosecutors are looking at something else.

“Democrats think Trump is their biggest asset. They may be wrong. The biggest question here is not if Trump is impeached, I think that will come in days, not weeks.

“The real issue is, will he be convicted? If he is acquitted, I think he will give Trump the Republican nomination and could elect him for the presidency.

Donald Trump speaks to the media at his Trump Turnberry golf course in Ayrshire, which is home to the Ricoh Women’s British Open.gbnews

“If it’s convicted, even if it’s trivial in the grand scheme of things. A former President of the United States convicted of secret money…”

“In the middle of the United States, where the evangelical Christians are, that doesn’t look good.”

Trump has defied predictions of his demise numerous times since he launched his bid for the White House in 2015.

Sometimes called the “Teflon Don” for his record of shirking accountability, Trump once bragged that he could gun down someone in the middle of Manhattan and not face the consequences.

Triumph defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 despite the appearance of the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape in which he made vulgar comments about women.

In 2018, when he was president, he paid no apparent political price for the Stormy Daniels case, even when his lawyer went to jail for arranging the payments and pointed the finger at Trump.

The former president remains the favorite in the 2024 Republican field, with the support of 44% of Republicans in a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Monday, ahead of DeSantis’s 30% support.

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