First criminal trial of a former president, perhaps the only one of the four that the Republican candidate faces that is held before the elections, begins this Monday in New York. Some compare the level of media scrutiny to that of the OJ Simpson trial almost three decades ago.

Others wonder if it will test the institution of justice and the very concept that no individual is above the law. Larry Sabato, from the University of Virginia, considers the trial, still undated, could do a lot of damage to Trump's followers. A conviction in the New York trial, which is expected to last between six and eight weeks, “could have an impact on the public's fitness for office,” Sabato says. “I'm not sure the trial involving Stormy Daniels will, even if he were convicted, seem to weigh more than the border crisis and even even the public’s economic crisis,’ Sabato adds. The first criminal charge for which he will sit in the dock is a compendium of everything that characterizes the Republican: base instincts, finances and political ambition.