Donald Trump can run for president — even from jail

Even if Trump goes to prison, he wouldn’t be the first to campaign from behind bars

An October 1920 political cartoon showing Eugene V. Debs campaigning from jail. Illustration by Clifford Berryman via Wikimedia Commons

By PJ Grisar May 31, 2024

Editor’s Note: Donald J. Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts in a New York courtroom on Thursday, May 30, prompting a flurry of questions as to his eligibility in the 2024 election. The answer is he can still run, even if he is sentenced to jail time. To explore this question, and its history, further, we are republishing this article from March 20, 2023, first written on the occasion of the hush money lawsuit

Former President Donald Trump faces indictment in New York for his role in an alleged hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels. Many are now wondering what Trump’s arrest, which he says he expects to happen Tuesday, would mean for his 2024 presidential bid. Can Trump run if he’s indicted — or even if he’s in jail?

The answer is yes. Another, very different, candidate did exactly that.

Socialist politician and trade unionist Eugene V. Debs, the preferred candidate of the Forverts and namesake of our radio signal, WEVD, ran for president in 1920 from the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary.

A 1908 illustration showing readers how to vote for Eugene V. Debs. The headline reads This is how you ought to vote today!” Image by Forward Archive

On election day, almost 1 million voters cast their ballot for Prisoner 9653. (Noted conspiracy theorist and antisemite Lyndon LaRouche also ran from behind bars in 1992, but had considerably less popular support at just under 23,000 votes.)

Debs was convicted for incitement at an antiwar speech in Canton, Ohio. Trump was impeached a second time for inciting the mob on Jan. 6, and there most of the comparisons, between a labor leader and a billionaire known for anti-union policies, end.

On Nov. 2, 1920, the front page of the Forverts, citing erroneous numbers, proclaimed that Debs received 2 million votes.

The November 2, 1920 front page of the Forward, reading “Debs receives 2 million votes.” Photo by Forward Archive

It remains to be seen if Trump, who could become the first ex-president to face indictment, will actually be convicted and serve time. But even if he does, he wouldn’t be the first presidential hopeful to campaign from a jail cell.

PJ Grisar is a Forward culture reporter. He can be reached at [email protected] and @pjgrisar on Twitter.

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