Trump scored four ‘wins’ in a single day. That means chaos for everyone else

For what felt like the first time in weeks, Thursday was a day of “good news” for the former president, who has spent years baselessly portraying himself as a victim of a Democratic conspiracy to keep him out of the White House.

He was satisfied with his attorney’s case in front of the US Supreme Court. He won another primary election. A federal judge overseeing his classified documents case seems to beignoring prosecutors’ fears about his harassment campaign. And President Joe Biden’s US Department of Justice gave the former president enough validation to keep the “sleepy Joe” narrative alive through Election Day.

Even when his rivals get the same treatment, Mr Trump tells his supporters he’s the victim of a “weaponized” Justice Department and a “two-tiered system of justice,” ignoring thousands of pages of evidence against him. He’ll take the victories in elections he won and call any loss “rigged” against him. His own attorney stood in front of the nation’s highest court to call a violent attack that risked tossing out millions of Americans’ votes “criminal,” and none of the justices blinked.

Seen another way, a firehose of news on a “good” day for the likely Republican nominee for president – leaning into his autocratic campaign built on “retribution” – is a big red flashing light for our deteriorating democracy, its institutions too slow or ill-equipped to respond.

Supreme Court justices, including the three he appointed, appeared ready to reject a Colorado decision that Mr Trump, under the “insurrection” clause of the 14th Amendment, is disqualified from public office.

The justices weren’t interested in having a working definition of “insurrection” let alone deciding if “engaging” in one should disqualify him from