Former US President Donald Trump at a New Hampshire primary election night watch party in Nashua, New Hampshire, US, on January 23, 2024 Photo: VCG

The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear and issue a ruling on former president Donald Trump's presidential immunity over criminal election interference charges, further prolonging the judicial procedure and increasing the possibility of an "election before trial." 

Observers said on Thursday that Trump will continue the "postponement" strategy through any means, and the immunity ruling will add farcical elements to a presidential election that has already become a spectacle closely watched by the world. 

The Supreme Court said on Wednesday in a brief order that the case is on hold while the immunity claim is being considered, meaning no trial can take place, NBC reported on Wednesday.

The order said the court would hear the case, which could take months to resolve, in the week of April 22. That timeline allows for a ruling by the end of the court's regular term in June, which is faster than is typical when the court hears arguments, but not as fast as prosecutors wanted it to be, according to NBC.

Just hours after the court order, an Illinois judge removed Trump from the state's ballot based on the 14th Amendment's so-called "insurrectionist ban," CNN reported Wednesday. 

Illinois is now the third state where Trump has been booted from the ballot, after Colorado and Maine. However, those decisions were paused pending an appeal of the Colorado case to the US Supreme Court.

US media reported that even if the Supreme Court rules against Trump in June, the trial may not take place until well into election season, raising questions about whether it will take place at all before Election Day in November. If Trump were to win his appeal before the court, the charges would be dismissed.

Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Thursday that Trump will spare no efforts to drag out the Supreme Court immunity ruling and the trial. If he can be elected, there are numerous measures he could use to exempt himself from his legal troubles. 

Li noted that the 2024 presidential election is already full of drama, with one prospective candidate tied up in lawsuits and the other in hot water for his policy on the Gaza war. 

Trump's promises to reimpose punitive tariffs, tighten international aid, cut taxes, and restrict immigration underline a shift toward inward-looking and unilateral policies that also worry US allies. 

Incumbent president Joe Biden has just won the primary in swing state Michigan, but faces a backlash from Arab American voters, a community who voted overwhelmingly for Biden in 2020, CNBC reported Tuesday. 

This year's already farcical presidential election has become intertwined with numerous lawsuits and now the Supreme Court ruling. This is the practice of "separation of the three powers" but cannot cure the current disease in US politics, Li said. 

No matter how the Supreme Court rules, it will add uncertainty and chaos to the election, which is a vivid example of the country's political decadence, said the expert.

The presidential election is a spectacle that Americans care about and the whole world is eagerly watching, as who becomes the next US president will have profound implications for global politics and the stability of international relations, analysts said.