Donald Trump: Classic or Dud?

One difference I guess is Musk was a less toxic figure in the public imagination compared to now.

also (very unfortunately) the caver's lawyer was l. lin wood, who did win not-dissimilar cases a long age ago but latterly became very much a total crackpot unable to put a good case together: last year he retired from practice rather than face disbarment over his activities pursing trump's 2020 election fraud case -- my impression is that the caver was pretty badly advised but also deeply unlucky in his choice of representation and strategy

(and of course musk could pay for excellent lawyers, and unleashed them)

musk's "I was obviously joking" argument was pretty watertight iiuc. the jury returned the verdict in like 10 minutes. the trump trial is nothing like that.

why aren't you guys talking about the judge threatening trump with jail?

He should stop threatening it and actually do it.

because nobody believes the judge would actually make good on his threat

^^^

I mean, the judge is the one who will have to live with the death threats that come daily for probably the rest of his life if/when he decides that, so I'm not saying that he shouldn't do it, as he's the one that took the job, but I think he's trying to avoid it as long as he can until he can't realistically do it anymore or until (he hopes, incorrectly) Trump stops.

An aneurysm would stop him.

Wouldn't a couple nights in jail play into Trump's messiah shit? 'They're actually coming after you, but they have to get through me first!'
that's his whole schtick now

I feel like it'd help w/ his base (which, who cares), but he'd act like such a petulant baby, talking about the trials and tribulations of his 3 years in max (after a 2 day county stay), and quite ironically, it might be the first time anybody who votes R giving a fuck about conditions in jail

like he probably would never shut up about it

I just hope that he does jail Trump for contempt and that 2-3 days in the slammer is devastating to his physical and mental wellbeing.

he can still do so much trash-talking within the bounds of the gag order. It seems Merchan is probably shitting it and would probably only lock him up for an hour or something. Probably doesn't want the lasting notoriety of being first judge to lock up an ex-pres in a cell.

it would help him a lot in terms of fundraising but electorally I feel like getting thrown in jail because you couldn't shut the fuck up is probably a bad thing

there's also a chance if he was remanded to jail that he'd briefly resist, for a fleeting second, and then suddenly take an accidental blow to the chest that gave him an arrhythmia and oh no the parademic was just too late to get there see his hot dog cart order was just taking too long.

*paramedic

trump does not want to go to jail. it would be good if he went to jail.

for once he wasn't posting incessantly on Truth Social during the lunch break...I think he's spooked

I can't help but wonder how Trump being jailed would be bad for Biden. Perhaps the NYT can shed some light.

haha otm

his whole shtick is kayfabe 'nothing is real but money, i'm an obnoxious slob and it doesn't matter because i inherited $400,000,000.' when you come off the top of a steel cage that's two stories above the concrete arena floor you're not supposed to actually go to the hospital though, or get charged with injuring your opponent. maybe a little reality and consequences would finally make a difference in this whole abject charade?

just imagine the first food order Trump tries to place in jail and is told he can't get McDonald's there

"when i'm President again, the very first act is to make sure McDonald's IS AVAILABLE IN ALL PRISONS"

NYT with the scoop:

At the defense table, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, two of Trump's lawyers, are passing a note back and forth. In between them? Trump, sitting with his eyes closed.

"He who smelt it" etc.

Would Jared and Ivana "forget" to put money on his commissary?

the note says "do you like me? y/n"

"More likely, Merchan could give Trump a "time out" in a cell behind the New York City courtroom where he is currently on trial."

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/could-donald-trump-really-go-jail-gag-order-violations-rcna150848

THIS would be awesome because it would be humiliating but he wouldn't be able to raise a ton of money from a toddler time out.

“A minute in jail for every count against you in various venues”

lol the courtroom jail would be the best.

the memes that would come out of that

Trump: This judge is giving me a gag order and said you'll go to jail if you violate it. And frankly, our constitution is much more important than jail. It's not even close. I'll do that sacrifice any day. pic.twitter.com/TkbnLajOSt

— Acyn (@Acyn) May 6, 2024

then do it bitch

*makes chicken clucking noises while flapping my arms @ him*

i still like the public park prison yurt idea a little, but the only way to win at trump is to make him broke or to keep him all the way outta the media. it's all he really understands. if being in jail makes him broke or outta the media it's fine, but i'm not clear it does that. unless it's like i dunno supermax. supermax donald.

dreamin' is free.

i sentence you to not have a phone or internet, forever

dare to dream

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbU3zdAgiX8

STORMY is bringing the storm!

hoping she's the one that gets him to stand up and scream

like Donald Sutherland

"You remind me of my daughter." ugh....

Truly someone who cares about the working class:

Stormy Daniels says that Trump took an interest in the business aspects of her industry and asked about unions, residuals, and health insurance, as well about S.T.D. testing.

Signs point to yes!

Stormy Daniels says she asked Trump during their dinner: “Are you always this rude? Are you always this arrogant and pompous? Like you don’t even know how to have a conversation.”

Who needs a piss tape when we have:

Trump clearly mouths an expletive as Stormy Daniels recalls playfully spanking him with a rolled-up magazine, and saying he was much more polite afterwards.

the rolled-up magazine was pissed on unfortunately

what's funny is that at best if he'd never paid off Stormy, she'd have sold her story somewhere and it would be forgotten by now

the rolled-up magazine had a KFC drumstick, original recipe

Hmmm

Daniels is describing a remarkably intense encounter, and says that the room spun in slow motion and the blood left her hands and feet. She says that Trump did not act particularly threatening but blocked her access to the door to the bedroom. Then she says she “blacked out,” though she did not take alcohol or drugs. At this point, the judge — who has sustained one objection and seems unusually angry — called for a sidebar. He sustains another objection.

As noted earlier by Alan Feuer:

This is just the latest reminder that juries, even in the most prominent cases, almost never hear the full story. The evidence they are permitted to consider is always balanced against the possible prejudice it could have against the defendant.

Though honestly this is my favorite image so far as I assume he looked equally glum then:

Trump is staring straight ahead glumly as Stormy Daniels describes him in his underclothes sitting on the bed waiting for her.

C'mon, Feuer:

Clearly prosecutors want Daniels to confirm the sexual encounter that underpins the entire narrative of Trump seeking to pay her off, keep her quiet and ultimately covering up the nature of the payment. But the risk they run in eliciting such intimate details from Daniels is that the testimony backfires and the jury develops some sympathy for Trump.

If this was almost ANYONE else, maybe. But.

What a time to be alive