Donald Trump’s reaction to the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago helps both him and Joe Biden

Republicans have rallied around the former president, which also helps the current White House incumbent with his supporters, writes Chris Stevenson

The former US president suggested, without any basis, that the FBI could have planted evidence (AFP/Getty)

It has been quite a seven days for Donald Trump. This past Monday his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida was subject to a search by the FBI and by Friday a judge had unsealed the warrant authorising that search – revealing that agents removed 11 sets of classified documents as part of an investigation into possible violations of the Espionage Act.

Trump – who has denied any wrongdoing and has said the items were declassified – responded as you would expect he might. He suggested, without any basis, that the FBI could have planted evidence. A Trump lawyer, Alina Habba, also said on Fox on Tuesday: “I’m concerned that they may have planted something; you know, at this point, who knows?” That, along with various other speculation on the search from Trump-friendly talking heads, meant we were following a pattern similar to that which we saw the former president follow in the White House – try and win the air-time war by claiming as much as you can that these actions are politically motivated.

The search did have the effect of rallying many Republicans to his side, using words like “overreach” and “banana republic”. Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican in the House of Representatives, even warned the US attorney general, Merrick Garland, to “preserve your documents and clear your calendar”. A way of letting it be known that if Republicans win control of the House in November’s midterm elections, they will be holding hearings into the conduct of the Justice Department.