Trump arraigned by New York court

president,” said Blake Discher ’26, a democrat on campus. “In that way, it’s not unexpected.”

But while some students see the indictment as the latest in a saga of Trump scandals, others view it as an act of the former president’s political perseverance as he weathers attacks from the media.

“Trump has always been a polarizing figure, that is his personality,” said Gavinn Alstott ’25, president of the College Republicans. “But the media is just as polarizing, which doesn’t mix well. As most people know, Trump has been at the center of many media scandals that involved Russia, January 6, Mar O’ Lago and even his Twitter account. In my opinion, this current indictment is just another notch on his resume, and what a resume that is.”

Trump, who is currently running to regain the presidency in 2024, has long painted the many accusations of law-breaking against him as merely political con-jobs. Recently, Trump shared a message on Truth Social encouraging the defunding of the FBI and DOJ, a stark contrast to the usual Republican talking points of ensuring funding of Law Enforcement agencies.

“REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS SHOULD DEFUND THE DOJ AND FBI UNTIL THEY COME TO

THEIR SENSES,” said Trump in his message. “THE DEMOCRATS HAVE TOTALLY WEAPONIZED LAW ENFORCEMENT IN OUR COUNTRY AND ARE VISCOUSLY USING THE ABUSE OF POWER TO INTERFERE WITH OUR ALREADY UNDER SIEGE ELECTIONS.”

In reality, increasing funding for the DOJ, of which the FBI is part, seems to be a bipartisan habit as both former President Trump and current President Joe Biden have called for the department’s funding to be increased during their terms.

Some see Trump’s indictment as a rallying cry for Republicans to come together and unify for their support of Trump, while others fear the legal entanglement will disenfranchise independents from swinging for Trump.

“Ultimately, due to the polar-