Historian predicts Trump will win 2024 despite legal challenges.

Is Donald Trump Poised for a Comeback?

According to Scottish-American historian Niall Ferguson, former President Donald Trump is likely to become the next U.S. president. In a recent op-ed for The Spectator, Ferguson wrote that a “second Trump act is not just possible. It’s fast becoming my base case.”

The Democrats’ Lawfare Against Trump

Ferguson explained that while there is a “campaign of lawfare against Trump,” the effort “has already started to backfire.” He argued that the Democrats’ harassment of Trump in the courts is paradoxical, but it makes sense because the prospect of him performing the perp walk attracts media coverage, and media coverage is the free publicity on which Trump has always thrived.

Furthermore, every column inch or minute of airtime his legal battles earn him is an inch or a minute less for his Republican rivals for the nomination.

Trump’s Legal Battles

On May 9, a New York jury found Trump civilly liable for battery and defamation in a lawsuit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll. Her allegations, that she was raped by the former Trump in a department store sometime between late 1995 and early 1996, were dismissed.

The jury awarded Carroll $2 million in compensatory damages and $20,000 in punitive damages in the battery claim. She was awarded an additional $3 million in damages in the defamation claim.

Trump, who has denied the allegations, has since appealed the verdict.

In a separate case, Trump was charged on April 4 with 34 accounts of falsifying business records related to non-disclosure payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Trump vs. DeSantis

Ferguson also argued that if it were a two-man race between Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, there would be “a good deal more uncertainty around the outcome,” given that the governor “still looks to be in contention” in head-to-head polling.

Currently, the Florida governor has not indicated when or if he will announce a 2024 White House bid. Apart from Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hut

• Trump is the clear frontrunner, leading DeSantis by an average margin of nearly 30 points, 52.1 percent to 22.9

It remains to be seen whether Trump will make a comeback, but one thing is for sure: he is not going down without a fight.