2023: THE YEAR IN POLITICS

The GOP front runner kept his eyes on the Oval Office, even as the court cases mounted| The White House struggled with public opinion even in its moments of success 

- Brian Bennett & Philip Elliott

Donald Trump

The GOP front runner kept his eyes on the Oval Office, even as the court cases mounted

SOME FORMER PRESIDENTS RETREAT to privacy after the pressures of the job. (Exhibit A: George Washington.) Others find a way to stay in the spotlight. (Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter.)

Then there's Donald Trump, who remained the front runner for the Republican presidential nomination throughout 2023 as his pileup of legal woes led pundits and reporters to wear out the word unprecedented. Before Trump's 91 charges over four indictments, no former U.S. President had ever been indicted even once. The first indictment came in March from New York, tied to his trying to cover up an affair with an adult-film actress. Then came federal charges in June over classified documents, and charges in August in federal court and in Georgia over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.

The cases will shape 2024 campaigns and test the justice and political system unlike anything the country has ever seen. In the meantime, they are playing into Trump's framing of himself as a perpetual victim of political retaliation.