Donald Trump attended the first three days of his civil fraud trial at the Manhattan Supreme Court in New York City. He was photographed “scowling” (The New York Times) inside the courtroom, addressed the media outside the courtroom, and dropped some innuendo on social media that resulted in a gag order from Judge Arthur Engoron.
[NOTE: One former federal prosecutor thinks Trump gag orders aren’t the best idea.]
While Trump complained that the trial (which is a civil case, not a criminal case) was taking him away from the 2024 presidential campaign trail (“I’d love to be campaigning instead of doing this”), his presence in the courtroom was not required.
Trump said, leaving the courtroom after the first day of trial: “This was for politics. It has been very successful for them — they took me off the campaign trail…Because I’ve been sitting in a courthouse all day long, instead of being in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina or a lot of other places I could be at.”
But close political observers understand that Trump wasn’t prevented from campaigning while voluntarily attending the New York trial — he was campaigning there. No town hall in New Hampshire or farmer’s market in Iowa could possibly offer Trump a bigger platform than the Manhattan courthouse, nor do those come with a ready-made trigger for his persecution narrative.
(Note: on another recent occasion when Trump and the judicial system met face to face, the interaction produced a mug shot that brought in millions for the former President.)
Conservative political pundit Ann Coulter — who is supporting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the 2024 GOP primary — says Trump “chose to be there because he knew he’d get more camera time.”
<<Trump complained that the trial took him off the … campaign trail, but …his presence in the courtroom wasn’t required. He chose to be there because he knew he’d get more camera time ….>>https://t.co/8Zp3tuzhE3
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) October 6, 2023
When Trump left the courtroom in the middle of proceedings on Wednesday, New York Attorney General Letitia James declared that “the Donald Trump show is over.” She accused Trump of engaging in a “political stunt” and called his presence at the trial a “fundraising stop.”
Note: According to Judge Engoron, the trial is expected to last until December 22.
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