The remarkable comeback of Donald Trump

Then came the criminal prosecutions: charges over hush money paid to a porn star; charges over mishandling of classified documents; and charges of election interference, filed in Georgia and Washington D.C. And then the New York civil suits, related to fraud and defamation.

While they would all deny it, it seemed that the entire infrastructure of power in the USA, judicial, political, academic, media, were all focused on ensuring that Donald Trump would not return to the White House, but instead, would die behind bars.

But all that seemed only to backfire on them, as Trump began his amazing political comeback.

Despite a very lacklustre start to his campaign (even FOX News cut away from his flat announcement speech), and despite not participating in a single debate with his Republican opponents during the primary season, Trump went on to secure the Grand Old Party's nomination for President for the third time in his life.

Then, notwithstanding his status as a former president, he was found guilty on all 34 counts in his New York hush money case, making him the first convicted felon to be a presidential nominee.

It was a low-point in American political history.

But then things started turning Trump's way: in an early debate against President Biden, Trump had the good fortune to be up against an opponent who appeared mentally incompetent. In comparison, Trump actually looked like the 'stable-genius' he always claimed he was.

Then, the Supreme Court ruled that a president is immune from prosecution for 'official' acts while in office, causing much of the criminal proceedings against Trump to be paused or halted altogether.

But most notably of all, came July 13: at a rally held in Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump had the amazing luck (or was it Providence?) to turn his head at the exact moment when shots rang out, and a bullet that would have surely killed him, instead grazed his right ear. Falling to the ground as bullets still flew through the air, Trump stood to his feet when word was given that the gunman was dead, and with blood streaming down his face, he raised his fist and chanted: Fight, fight, fight!

An iconic moment that showed for all the world to see that you can never count Donald Trump out.

Whatever you think of him, he demonstrated his grit. And therein lies the marvel of the man: his extraordinary resilience. Whatever is thrown at him, be they impeachments, lawsuits, prosecutions, even bullets, he still gets back up. That's what a winner does.

Indeed, Trump appeared so unbeatable that President Biden, despite his initial refusal to drop out, did just that, handing the nomination over to his deputy, Vice President Harris.