Trump toggles between the courtroom and the campaign in the final week before 2024 voting begins

CNN —

Donald Trump is turning the last dash to the Iowa caucuses into a showcase for his claims of political persecution as he seeks to suck oxygen from his trailing Republican opponents.

Trump’s expected juggle of courtroom appearances and campaign events this week will stand as an metaphor for an entire election overshadowed by the former president’s legal entanglements.

His strategy of anchoring his campaign on his falsehood that he won the 2020 election – which is at the heart of two of his four looming criminal trials – and his explicit calls for “retribution” have helped make him the strongest front-runner for a presidential nomination in years. It has also complicated efforts by his chief rivals – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who meet in a CNN debate this week – to disqualify him as strong nominee.

While Trump’s rhetoric puts off many Americans, his refusal to accept decorum and to recognize the constraints of the rule of law is a key part of his brand among disaffected grassroots Republican voters. By setting Trump – who faces 91 criminal charges across four separate cases – on the road toward a third straight nomination, Iowa’s January 15 caucuses would encapsulate the fateful collision between the ex-president’s legal plight and the 2024 election.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 7: Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits at the defense table with his attorneys Christopher Kise (L) and Alina Habba (R) in New York State Supreme Court on December 7, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Eduardo Munoz Alvarez-Pool/Getty Images)

Key Trump legal dates to watch this week

Trump’s increasing autocratic mindset, which pulsated through his weekend events, meanwhile appeared to