DON'S NEW DAWN

In his second coming, Donald Trump has far greater political capital, and an impractical wish list

- MOHAMED ZEESHAN

This month, New York State Judge Juan Merchan handed president-elect Donald Trump an unconditional discharge in his criminal conviction for falsifying business records ahead of the 2016 elections. The sentence means that even though his crimes sometimes carry as many as four years in prison, Trump will not face any jail time, fines or probation.

Merchan admitted that the lenient sentence was a product of the fact that Trump has just been elected president a second time. “The pro- tections [of the office of the president] are... a legal mandate which... this court must respect and follow,” the judge said. “This court has [therefore] determined that the only lawful sentence... is an unconditional discharge.”

The lack of punishment means that even though Trump will be the first convicted felon to take office in US history, he begins his second term with a whiff of preferential treatment and an air of vindication.

That preferential treatment and vindication goes far beyond the New York courtroom where Trump was sentenced. During his first term in office, Trump faced stiff resistance from all quarters, with people arguing that the president should not be given a free pass just because he is the president. Trump was routinely criticised and countered by fellow businessmen, Silicon Valley tycoons and powerful lobbies. He was even investigated by officials in his administration for a range of misdemeanours.

Now, the landscape appears to have changed as individuals and institutions recalibrate for Trump’s return.

In the run-up to the election, billionaire Jeff Bezos—who owns The Washington Post and had previously taken on Trump—directed his editors not to publish an endorsement for either presidential candidate. Bezos was ostensibly concerned that Trump may penalise his business interests if the newspaper endorsed his opponent.