Donald Trump, in a frantic bid to rouse his supporters, has been spinning yarns of courtroom chaos. But the actual scenes are anything but riveting.
In an email blast titled “My Farewell Message” sent out Monday night, Donald Trump sent his backers into a frenzy with a dire prediction.
“Tomorrow is my GAG ORDER hearing,” it read. “If things don’t go our way, I could be thrown in jail.”
Dramatic? Definitely. Credible? Hardly.
Despite Trump’s ominous warnings, Tuesday didn’t see him facing the iron bars of a jail cell. Instead, the prosecution in his hush money trial sought a measly $1,000 fine for his flouting of a court order – hardly a prelude to incarceration. Yet, Trump’s narrative, embellished and exaggerated, continues to paint a picture of impending doom, detached from the mundane realities of legal proceedings.
Throughout the trial’s initial phase, Trump’s accounts of legal turmoil have diverged significantly from the actual events transpiring in Manhattan’s criminal courthouse. His social media feeds and fundraising appeals depict a frantic Trump, weaving tales of courtroom theatrics and shadowy conspiracies against him, all while the reality unfolds with all the excitement of a dozing sloth.
In one particularly hyperbolic fundraising missive on the trial’s kickoff, Trump claimed to have “stormed out” of proceedings. However, reporters present witnessed no such dramatic exit, exposing Trump’s penchant for hyperbole.
He has regaled his supporters with stories of multiple “emergency” press conferences – a term generously applied to his routine exchanges with the media upon entering and leaving the courtroom.
These exaggerated accounts have proven fruitful for Trump’s fundraising efforts, reportedly netting him a staggering $5.6 million in the trial’s opening week. Yet, they belie a courtroom demeanor marked more by mundanity than mayhem. Trump’s role in his own trial is reduced to that of a bit player, forced to sit through proceedings with an air of reluctant resignation.
Trump stands accused of tampering with business records to cover up hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress alleged to be his paramour, in a bid to shield damning information from voters ahead of the 2016 election. While the trial trudges on, marked by its sluggish pace, Trump’s presence in the courtroom is characterized more by silence than spectacle.
He spends the tedious moments as any defendant would – with lips tightly sealed, gaze fixed ahead, occasionally stealing glances at the jurors. On one occasion, he nodded approvingly at a prospective juror’s mention of his literary works. And in the rare instances of courtroom quiet, Trump busies himself with shuffling papers, the rustle of which he claims to be fervent prayer, not mere slumber.
Unlike his previous civil proceedings, where Trump’s audible reactions drew reprimands from the judge, his interventions in this trial have been sparse. Any attempts at courtroom theatrics have been swiftly quashed, with Trump’s lawyer receiving stern warnings to rein in his client’s antics.
However, clashes with the presiding judge have been a recurring theme. Tuesday’s proceedings saw tensions escalate as Judge Juan Merchan contemplated holding the former president in contempt.
“You’re losing all credibility with the court,” an exasperated Merchan admonished Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, following a heated exchange over Trump’s social media activity.
Yet, Trump, typically loquacious, remained subdued. He stoically endured accusations of breaching the gag order, showing little reaction as his lawyer defended him. His only actions were passing notes to his legal team and declining a bottle of water.
Far from the apocalyptic scenarios painted in his fundraising missives, Tuesday’s reality was far less dramatic. But true to form, Trump swiftly pivoted to a new grievance – this time, alleging that police had thwarted thousands of his supporters from protesting outside the courthouse.
In Trump’s version of events, Lower Manhattan resembled a ghost town, devoid of any pro-Trump fervor, unlike the bustling protests permitted at Columbia University. Yet, eyewitness accounts paint a starkly different picture – a lone supporter with a flag amidst a sea of indifference.
In Trump’s world, reality is but a minor inconvenience to his grand narrative of victimhood and defiance.
