Winners of Trump indictment: The former president and Joe Biden. DeSantis? Not so much.

It’s quite telling about our political environment that we are not more shocked by a former president facing his second indictment since March.

This time, Donald Trump is the first former president slapped with federal charges related to his handling of hundreds of classified documents after leaving office.

It’s also another day that Trump is plastered all over the headlines.

While the charges are not surprising – even Trump’s attorney general, Bill Barr, has acknowledged that there's a strong case against his former boss – Trump is already twisting what should be devastating news to his presidential campaign and turning it into a fundraising ploy.

Trump is adept at this, and after his charges in March in the New York hush money and business record falsification case, he saw a significant bump in his fundraising. Expect the same thing to happen here.

Trump, the ‘victim’

The new charges – unsealed Friday afternoon – give Trump fresh material to “show” his supporters that he is yet again the victim of a Democratic witch hunt.

Trump fears DeSantis: Freshly indicted Trump has gone from mocking DeSantis to begging him not to run. SAD!

The political optics look bad: President Joe Biden’s Justice Department bringing an indictment against his chief rival for the White House.

By overplaying their hand in the past with Trump investigations, Democrats have given Trump and his Republican base the ammunition to distrust these latest accusations – even if there is more justification this time.

What’s more surprising is how Republican Party leaders – including some of his primary opponents – are circling the wagons around Trump.

Another view: Trump indicted again, and STILL Republicans flock to support him. Sad!

Trump’s 2024 opponents are missing an opportunity

GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy set the tone Thursday by tweeting, “It is unconscionable for a President to indict the leading candidate opposing him,” and calling it a “grave injustice.”

It could be, but it's too early to know.

Even Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – Trump’s most formidable presidential primary rival – couldn’t bring himself to criticize Trump. Rather, he focused on the “weaponization of federal law enforcement.”

Other GOP contenders also took this tactic. Only long-shot candidates like former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took a more direct approach.

“These are all self-inflicted wounds,” Christie said on Fox News. “Return the documents and stop doing this. Why do you have to be the center of negative attention all the time?”

DeSantis doesn’t want to tick off Trump’s hardcore fans, but he can’t shy away from taking the fight directly to Trump. Rather than dabble in juvenile back-and-forths with Trump over AI-generated images, he should take the opportunity to highlight how if he were president, he’d never put himself in these vulnerable situations.

How low can Trump go? Trump unleashes sophomoric DeSantis deepfake. GOP should support a grownup for president.

Heat taken off Biden?

In the meantime, the other winner in this whole debacle is Biden. The more Trump is in the news for possible criminal wrongdoing, it takes the heat off the president and his increasing frailty and his own legal troubles.

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House Republicans are pursuing their investigations into Biden family influence peddling while Biden was vice president. And the House Oversight and Accountability Committee is looking into allegations that Biden himself was involved in a $5 million bribery scheme.

Biden calls the investigation “malarkey,” but we shouldn’t take his word for it.

And let’s not forget that Biden faces his own special counsel investigation into his handling of classified documents, which were found in his office and garage.

Don't overlook Biden's problems: If Trump was 'irresponsible' for stashing secret documents, what does it make Biden?

Regardless, in the short term, Trump and Biden each benefit from Trump being in the spotlight. If the GOP really wants to move on from Trump, his opponents need to do a much better job of turning the heat on the former president.

These indictments are the perfect opportunity.

Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques 

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump indictment benefits him, and gives GOP another chance to move on