His head dropped to his chest several times, before jerking back upwards. Was it a sign that the 77-year-old defendant is as doddery as President Joe Biden, his 81-year-old rival? Or was SleepyDonald attempting the ultimate "baller" move by showing his disdain for the courtroom proceedings? He seemed surprisingly relaxed about making legal history.
Opponents of Trump are cock-ahoop that he is finally facing justice.
They claim he is being held to the same legal standards as any other private citizen. But does anybody suppose Trump would be in court today over alleged "hush money" payments to the porn star Stormy Daniels as long ago as 2016 if he were not running for re-election this year? Guilty or not, it seems very unlikely.
Those who are eagerly predicting Trump's downfall should beware: there is a fair to middling chance he will escape conviction. A legal victory would thrill his supporters and turbocharge his campaign to win over Republican and independent waverers. If the judgement goes against him, he could still win in the court of public opinion. Whatever happens, there is no chance he is going to jail.
It is far better for the Democrats to pound Trump on policy issues, rather than to place their faith in the vagaries of "lawfare". At the very moment that Biden has been rising in the polls, Trump is getting wall-to-wall coverage of his legal travails. According to a new AP/Norc poll, 35 percent of respondents think Trump did nothing illegal. A further 31 percent believe he behaved unethically but not illegally by paying off Daniels.
Trump insists he is the victim of a show trial, the first of four criminal cases against him. Outside the courtroom, he glowered, "It's a scam trial.
It's a political witch hunt." He added, "This is about election interference," because attending court will prevent him from being out on the campaign stump.
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