“Cannon fodder” is a term used to describe combatants thought to be expendable. Those who send “cannon fodder” into battle have little regard for their well-being. A high casualty rate they see as the price to pay for accomplishing some strategic goal, in the case in question, the removal of Donald Trump from the battlefield.
The question needs to be asked, why did Democrat strategists push Black officials into the forefront of their lawfare campaign against Donald Trump? With the exception of Special Counsel Jack Smith, nearly every high-profile prosecution was spearheaded by Black attorneys, judges, and committee chairs like Letitia James, Alvin Bragg, Fani Willis, Tanya Chutkan, and Bennie Thompson. They became the public face of the campaign to “get Trump,” even as they bore the personal and professional risks of failure.
Make no mistake, Democrats intentionally used Black prosecutors because of their race. On the most basic level, Black prosecutors would have a stronger pull over Black jurors and White liberal jurors as well.
More critically, if these cases were criticized, party leaders could circle back with their common anti-Trump narrative and claim that the pushback was due to racism. The media would relish this narrative. As the election approached, this tactic would strengthen the bond between the Black community and the Democrats even if the cases against Trump should fail.
From a strategic perspective, Democrat party leaders believed the Trump prosecutions offered multiple advantages. Each indictment created headlines, keeping Trump’s alleged misconduct front and center while burying his policy arguments. They thought the prosecutions reinforced their portrayal of Trump as lawless, a framing that reenforced Joe Biden’s messaging about Trump being unfit for office and “a threat to democracy.”
That said, each prosecution was something of a trial ballon, floating novel legal theories on insurance fraud, campaign finance violations, racketeering, and federal obstruction. Democrats had to know how flimsy were their cases, and how vulnerable the prosecutors. They just did not seem to care.
Enter James, Bragg, Willis, Chutkan, and Thompson. These Black figures were thrust into the spotlight not merely as lawyers or investigators, but as political symbols. Democratic leaders surely understood the likely outcome, that these individuals would be intensely scrutinized, harassed, and possibly discredited if the prosecutions faltered. But from the perspective of the party’s political calculus, these Black figures were acceptable casualties.
Hellbound and Down 