Donald Trump: Classic or Dud?

that's it, i've seen enough

dud

In honor of Merchan, and of Pigmeat Markham's 120th birthday today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ohq9h6QIcHY

I haven't seen enough of him looking glum and dour with no snacks and not allowed to play poker on his phone

lol he’s going to be found guilty isn’t he

Merchan declines to approve the challenge to the Borowitz Report enjoyer

— Josh Kovensky (@JoshKovensky) April 16, 2024

I sure fucking hope so

How does a jury usual view the defendant repeatedly falling asleep in court?

Pro? Con? Jealous?

Holy shit, someone just set themselves on fire outside the court room?!

Meantime the six alternates have been chosen, we have a full jury selection.

Trump should self-immolate.

did that wake him up? xxpost

Outside the courthouse rather than the room itself per NYT:

A young man set himself on fire after dousing himself with a flammable liquid in Collect Pond Park, across from the courthouse. As onlookers screamed, bright orange flames engulfed the man.

He was in the area of the park cordoned-off for Trump supporters, around two dozen of whom fled screaming.

The heat of the flames of the burning man could be felt a hundred feet away.

The man threw multicolored pamphlets in the air before lighting himself on fire. It is unclear what motivated his action.

It took several minutes for police officers to rush to the scene. A detective who was early to arrive tried to smother the man — who had collapsed — with his coat to extinguish the flames. Soon, dozens of officers swarmed the scene and began using a fire extinguisher.

The man was still moving as officers knelt beside him and asked his name. He was loaded into an ambulance and taken away.

Classic NYT headline tease:

Twelve jurors and six alternates have been chosen in the Manhattan trial of Donald Trump. Outside the courthouse, a man set himself on fire.

there were bigly tears...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcmG2knXCKQ

The man threw multicolored pamphlets in the air before lighting himself on fire. It is unclear what motivated his action.

"I mean, I guess we could have read one of the pamphlets before filing this story, now that you mention it..."

Trump's lawyers find a potential alternates old social media posts, including one assailing Trump's "sociopathic incompetence."

Judge: Does that describe your feelings at that time?

"I wouldn’t say that’s far off-base," he says.

— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) April 19, 2024

Another one of his old posts said of Trump:

"I do actually believe that he’s the devil."

He says, "At that time, yeah, I may have thought that."

He's excused for cause.

— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) April 19, 2024

The man threw multicolored pamphlets in the air before lighting himself on fire. It is unclear what motivated his action.

did anyone read the pamphlet? might be a clue in there.

xpost

Also the rest of today is a Sandoval hearing, which translates as the prosecutors going "Oh, he says he wants to testify? Sure thing your honor, we'd like to ask him about all his other convictions on the record." (Among other things.) Judge has to sign off on it, thus the hearing.

Meiselas: What I’m hearing from credible sources is that Donald Trump is actually farting in the courtroom… I’m hearing it from actual credible people that as he’s kind of falling asleep, he’s actually passing gas and that his lawyers are really struggling with the smell. pic.twitter.com/wa6F3iRDgX

— Acyn (@Acyn) April 19, 2024

iwanttobelieve.gif

idontwanttobreathe

I have a hectic morning at work and all THIS happens and I miss it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou7c8Sg9YVg

#onethread

taking the FART act a little too literally

One Trump
One Fart
Let's get together and
reek all night

It might have been even more tragic had Trump farted too close to the person that self-immolated. (Too soon?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywCH3HN2S7E

maybe better to wait a bit to discover the self-immolator's mental state

The guy who self-immolated has an online manifesto that is a bit hard to nail down ideologically. It's a theory about Peter Thiel and a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, but then goes on to talk about how Bill Clinton was mean to Dukakis and maybe had Epstein set-up Rob Lowe because he was a Dukakis supporter.

sounds... unsound

His sign said, "Trump is with Biden and They're About to Fascist Coup Us."

manifesto also has a long digression about the Simpsons monorail episode.

not joking

xposts
The fArt of the Deal

Just out of curiosity does anyone know if Aaron Rodgers is at the Jets voluntary minicamp today?

That guy would rather set himself on fire then report to any sort of camp voluntarily. Freedom!!

Apparently, the guy who set himself on fire was not concerned about Trump at all, pro or con. He had a long online manifesto about cryptocurrency and some grievances he had against NYU, but he knew where the reporters were gonna be.

And to think, Trump probably slept through the whole thing, poor little guy.

“He knew where the reporters were gonna be” for May thread title

self-immolator also had a laura dern podcast called dern after reading

Guilty lolz

Went and read it. Was not pro trump like I expected. Kind of a despairing anticapitalism run through a conspiracy blender and WTF close readings of classic simpsons episodes. Made me sad more than anything.

kinda seemed like the QAnon Shaman guy

Letitia James has asked Judge Engoron to reject Trump's $175 million bond, on the grounds that the company he used is not financially sound. Link here.

Got to give her credit, she is not fucking around.

Manifesto guy bundled lots of his stuff together into a pamphlet called Dipshit Secrets of our Rotten World, which is applause worthy.

I would have read it

its not fair that Trump's the one on trial and yet it's everyone else who's getting the gas chamber

And how to end your Friday per the NYT:

Jesse McKinley
April 19, 2024, 4:30 p.m. ET20 minutes ago

“Sir, can you please have a seat?” the judge says to Trump, as he rises before court is adjourned.

Maggie Haberman
April 19, 2024, 4:30 p.m. ET19 minutes ago

Justice Merchan has left the bench. Trump is standing and looking around the room.

Jonah Bromwich
April 19, 2024, 4:31 p.m. ET19 minutes ago

Trump walks out of the courtroom, patting the bench behind the defense table like an old friend as he goes.