Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[gondrin]

So Trump, when asked for evidence, pulls it from the same place he always does.

Trump does an interview for a local Detroit news station.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...b2ade44f&ei=10

Local TV Anchor Catches Donald Trump Off Guard With A Simple Question

Donald Trump leaned into his anti-immigrant rhetoric when he made a claim about immigration from Venezuela to America. But the former president then struggled to back up his assertion when quizzed on the source of his statistic.

Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, ended an interview with Fox 2 Detroit anchor Roop Raj by saying: “One stat before we go. Venezuela was very crime-ridden. They announced the other day 72% reduction in crime in the last year. You know why? They moved all their criminals from Venezuela right into the good old U.S.A. and [President Joe] Biden let them do it. It’s a disgrace.”

Raj asked Trump, “But sir, where are those numbers coming from?”

Trump floundered in response: “Uhhh, I guess I get them from the papers in this case. I think it’s a federal statement or, well, they’re coming actually from Venezuela. They’re coming from Venezuela.”

“We’ll have to check on that,” said Raj, whose full interview with Trump will air Thursday.

Trump has made a similar claim about the effect that Venezuelan immigration to the U.S. is having on national crime stats before ― but with a different number.

“Crime is down in Venezuela by 67% because they’re taking their gangs and their criminals and depositing them very nicely into the United States,” he told supporters at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, only on Apr. 2.

PolitiFact, the nonprofit U.S. political fact-checking site, described that instance of Trump’s spin as exaggerated.

Crime is down in Venezuela, it noted, but not by the massive percentage that Trump claims. As official figures are hard to come by, it could be by around 20% to 30%. The website also cited local sources saying it’s down to varying other factors ― including the economy and the consolidation of organized crime ― and not, as Trump tells it, the emptying of its prisons into America.

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So, how much does the Trump family stand behind or beside him during the trial? As of now, only Eric Trump is actually showing up. Not even Don Jr is going to the trial.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...97bfe4b1&ei=17

‘Very Sad To Watch’: Legal Analyst Struck By 1 Trial Moment Involving Eric Trump

MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin opined on Eric Trump’s attendance at his father Donald Trump’s hush money trial, describing it as “very sad to watch.”

On Wednesday’s episode of “Morning Joe,” Rubin noted how it was likely the first time the Trump scion had seen the documents detailing the nitty-gritty of how his father’s alleged hush money scheme came together.

“I and other reporters in the courtroom noticed at times — there are monitors that show the documents — Eric Trump was looking up at the documentation through which this deal was done, including emails between Cohen and Davidson, and sort of looking at them interestedly,” Rubin recalled, referring to former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen and to Keith Davidson, Stormy Daniels’ former lawyer.

“Watching Eric Trump watch those documents — as just a human being, that struck me,” she said. “These people are people, too.”

Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Trump is accused of falsifying business documents in a bid to cover up money paid to porn actor Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election to keep her quiet about an alleged earlier affair.

On Tuesday, Eric Trump became his first relative to support him in person in the courtroom.

Anthony Scaramucci, the short-lived Trump White House director of communications, suggested it showed the rest of the Trump family was embarrassed by the basis of the allegations.

It also pointed to a bigger problem for the ex-president, he said.

“Family members have said they’re not going to go work for him back in the White House. Melania is absent and I think this plays a bigger part of the story and it’s a bigger toll on him than people imagine,” Scaramucci said.

“Whether you like him or dislike him, he worked with his family on real estate, he worked with his family on ‘The Apprentice,’ he brought his family into the White House,” he added. “They are not there with him, and I think that’s something that bothers him way more than anybody is letting on.”

[Edge-]

The forgotten child is always vying for the attention he doesn't receive. Eric the Dumber is no exception.

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https://www.salon.com/2024/05/01/num...keep-awake-in/

The former President can’t stop sleeping in court, per reporters at the trial. Lisa Rubin, a legal correspondent for MSNBC, told Chris Jansing that Trump’s lawyers have gone to great lengths trying to keep him from snoozing during arguments.

Rubin told Jansing that attorneys have deployed “a number of different devices” to keep Trump alert, making efforts to distract or babysit him.

“When there are sidebars, an attorney doesn’t leave his side anymore because leaving him alone means leaving him to potentially sleep,” Rubin said. “He has a stack of papers with him at all times now to go through.”

Trump has fallen asleep in the majority of days of his Manhattan trial, where prosecutors are building a case that he made and covered up illegal hush money payments to Stormy Daniels. The trial, forecasted to last at least six weeks, has put the aging candidate, alongside his sleeping and speaking woes, in the spotlight.

Maybe "Executive Time" wasn't so much for binging Fox News while scarfing down double quarter pounders with cheese and diet cokes, and maybe it was instead for him to take his extensive naps throughout the day?

[gondrin]

The forgotten child is always vying for the attention he doesn't receive. Eric the Dumber is no exception.

- - - Updated - - -

https://www.salon.com/2024/05/01/num...keep-awake-in/



Maybe "Executive Time" wasn't so much for binging Fox News while scarfing down double quarter pounders with cheese and diet cokes, and maybe it was instead for him to take his extensive naps throughout the day?

I normally wouldn't bash on someone falling asleep in court because, for the most part of it all, court is generally very boring and just extremely dry. Especially for someone that is elderly. However, when it comes to Trump, he made it a habit on picking on Joe Biden and calling him "Sleepy Joe". However, the only person sleeping on the job is Trump, quite literally.

[Edge-]

I normally wouldn't bash on someone falling asleep in court because, for the most part of it all, court is generally very boring and just extremely dry. Especially for someone that is elderly. However, when it comes to Trump, he made it a habit on picking on Joe Biden and calling him "Sleepy Joe". However, the only person sleeping on the job is Trump, quite literally.

He's bragged a lot about his ENERGY and all so I'm perfectly fine with dunking on drowsy donald.

[Gorsameth]

The forgotten child is always vying for the attention he doesn't receive. Eric the Dumber is no exception.

- - - Updated - - -

https://www.salon.com/2024/05/01/num...keep-awake-in/



Maybe "Executive Time" wasn't so much for binging Fox News while scarfing down double quarter pounders with cheese and diet cokes, and maybe it was instead for him to take his extensive naps throughout the day?

Taking a little nap after eating double quarter pounders sounds like a wonderful idea actually.

There was a lot of executive time, he could manage to fit both in there.

[rayvio]

not sure how they plan to "keep trump alert", I don't think he's been alert for a very long time, awake or asleep

[Breccia]

“We’ll have to check on that,” said Raj, whose full interview with Trump will air Thursday.

Whoa. This is actually a big deal: fact-checking Trump to his fat face. I guess it wasn't a great idea to imply brown people were criminals when you're being interviewed by Roop Raj.

Incidentally, I'm not sure "Venezuela announced" is all that trustworthy, even if Trump got the numbers they announced correct.

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He's bragged a lot about his ENERGY and all so I'm perfectly fine with dunking on drowsy donald.

Also, bear in mind, if he goes to jail his life is over. Suck it up and stop staying up till 3AM tweeting when you're supposed to be helping the four remaining lawyers on the planet willing to work for you.

[Poopymonster]

Whoa. This is actually a big deal: fact-checking Trump to his fat face. I guess it wasn't a great idea to imply brown people were criminals when you're being interviewed by Roop Raj.

Incidentally, I'm not sure "Venezuela announced" is all that trustworthy, even if Trump got the numbers they announced correct.

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Also, bear in mind, if he goes to jail his life is over. Suck it up and stop staying up till 3AM tweeting when you're supposed to be helping the four remaining lawyers on the planet willing to work for you.

Well there have been Adderall shortages in the NJ/NY area...

[Edge-]

https://apnews.com/article/arizona-f...815e04dd337dbb

The chief of staff for former President Donald Trump faces the same conspiracy, fraud and forgery charges as the other named defendants in Arizona’s fake elector case, the state attorney general’s office said Wednesday.

Mark Meadows wasn’t named in a grand jury indictment last week because he hadn’t been served with it, although he was readily identifiable based on descriptions in the document. He has since been served, revealing nine felony counts, Richie Taylor, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office, wrote in an email to The Associated Press.

George Terwilliger, an attorney for Meadows, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the AP. He previously referred to the Arizona indictment as a “blatantly political and politicized accusation and will be contested and defeated.”

With the indictments, Arizona becomes the fourth state where allies of the former president have been charged with using false or unproven claims about voter fraud related to the election. Joe Biden won Arizona by more than 10,000 votes.

Charges have not yet been made public against one defendant, Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor and Trump-aligned attorney.

Damn, all these people around Donald keep getting charged/indicted on crimes, too! It's almost like this whole thing was a big criminal operation or something!

[Breccia]

The NYTimes reports that Trump is upset with his lawyer Blanche for not being aggressive enough in the courtroom, not going after the judge and jury enough.

"Wait, didn't Trump just get found in contempt of court?"

Stop bringing logic into a discussion about Trump's behavior.

"Isn't Blanche the one who was specifically and directly warned that he was testing the judge's patience?"

Yes.

Although Mr. Blanche has been Mr. Trump’s favorite lawyer for some time, behind closed doors and in phone calls, the former president has complained repeatedly about him in recent weeks, according to four people familiar with the situation.

He has griped that Mr. Blanche, a former federal prosecutor and veteran litigator, has not been following his instructions closely, and has been insufficiently aggressive. Mr. Trump wants him to attack witnesses, attack what the former president sees as a hostile jury pool, and attack the judge, Juan M. Merchan.

Mr. Trump, who often complains about legal fees and sometimes refuses to pay them, has also wondered aloud why his lawyers cost so much, according to the people, who all spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive topic.

Jason Miller, a Trump campaign senior adviser, said Monday that the former president and his team were focused entirely on fighting a “ridiculous” case and that “anonymous comments from people who aren’t in the room are just that.” He added: “I would be highly skeptical of any gossip or hearsay surrounding this case.”

Alina Habba, a legal spokeswoman for Mr. Trump, described Mr. Blanche as a “crucial part” of the team. Mr. Blanche declined to comment for this article.

"Question! How did Miller know the NYTimes sources weren't in the room?"

He doesn't. The NYTimes does have people in the courtroom, I might add. It is highly realistic they're verifying their own source's story.

"Does Miller's comments about hearsay at all reflect the random things Trump claims he heard?"

No. His denial should be taken as admission. A real lawyer wouldn't comment.

Mr. Blanche’s friends and defenders say that he has an unsolvable client management problem. If he were to do exactly what Mr. Trump wanted, they say, he would almost certainly be disciplined by the judge and would perhaps undermine his client’s defense.

Elie Honig, a former prosecutor who worked with Mr. Blanche at the Southern District of New York, said that it was “not always the optimal defense strategy at trial to attack full-bore every minute of every hour of every day,” adding, “You will exhaust the jury and, more importantly, you’ll compromise your credibility.”

“The best defense lawyers know that you pick your battles; you pick the most important battles,” Mr. Honig said.

"Why doesn't Trump just fall asleep and let the professionals with actual training and experience handle it?"

Because he watched Perry Mason once and thinks he's the smartest person. He's said so on multiple occasions.

[Edge-]

Because he watched Perry Mason once and thinks he's the smartest person. He's said so on multiple occasions.

I believe the specific term was, "very stable genius".

[Breccia]

The issue [is] we have politicized judges and blue juries coming in, and they're supposed to be impartial, but you have a judge tweaking, reprimanding, putting down counsel on the other side, being harder on one side than the other, that affects the jury. And that's not fair. It's not right.

Now, if President Trump is given a fair jury, a fair trial like anybody else in this country would be—because his name is Trump, he doesn't—that's where my concern is, not the facts. The facts are on our side.

-- Habba, desperate to keep her job

"What evidence do we have the jury is unfair?"

None. Team Trump had the same jury selection tools as any other defendant. Which is what Habba asked for.

Team Trump continues to push "anyone not 100% on our side is biased against us". That's what Trump demands.

[Kaleredar]

-- Habba, desperate to keep her job

"What evidence do we have the jury is unfair?"

None. Team Trump had the same jury selection tools as any other defendant. Which is what Habba asked for.

Team Trump continues to push "anyone not 100% on our side is biased against us". That's what Trump demands.

Attacking the jury seems like a bad prospect, seeing as they actually decide Trump’s fate. In theory they can be as idiotic and dense with the judge as much as they want up until the judge takes actual disciplinary action, but the jury don’t have some palpable “line” that trump and co. can mockingly tiptoe just behind and poke without actual consequence.


I don’t know how much we can take this to indicate the direction of the trial, though. There’s a 0% chance that Trump and co. Weren’t going to be saying these things as he tries to save some sort of public face while portraying himself as the perennial victim.

[ringpriest]

-- Habba, desperate to keep her job

"What evidence do we have the jury is unfair?"

None. Team Trump had the same jury selection tools as any other defendant. Which is what Habba asked for.

Team Trump continues to push "anyone not 100% on our side is biased against us". That's what Trump demands.

That's effectively the core of American "conservatism" which these days appears to be synonymous with the Republican Party. They truly think that "fair" means "we get everything we want". It is part of why they are so utterly dysfunctional as a political party, and effectively incapable of governing. For practical purposes, Republicans are not politics-capable. And that has gone arm-in-arm with their degeneration into something more akin to a revolutionary movement or cult than a Western political party.

[Breccia]

"we get everything we want".

This would absolutely explain the rift in the Republican Party, specifically Greene and the worst of the cult vs. the Party of Trump Supporters and Enablers.

[Poopymonster]

That's effectively the core of American "conservatism" which these days appears to be synonymous with the Republican Party. They truly think that "fair" means "we get everything we want". It is part of why they are so utterly dysfunctional as a political party, and effectively incapable of governing. For practical purposes, Republicans are not politics-capable. And that has gone arm-in-arm with their degeneration into something more akin to a revolutionary movement or cult than a Western political party.

We're a bunch of white people with money. It's only fair we get everything we want. That's how we set up the system!

[Edge-]

https://www.salon.com/2024/05/02/sha...ash-witnesses/

Judge Juan Merchan, who fined the former president $9,000 earlier in the week for previous violations -- and raised the prospect of jail time for future offenses -- said Thursday that Trump had gone out of his way to attack a witness.

"It was your client who went down to that holding area and stood in front of the press and started to speak." Merchan told Trump attorney Todd Blanche. "He went to the press. He didn't need to go in that direction."

"I agree with that," Blanche responded, drawing what The New York Times described as a "large laugh in the overflow room."

Trump did not appear to enjoy that particular exchange. After his lawyer agreed with the judge, "Trump shot around and glared at his own lawyer in disbelief, his mouth hanging open," ABC News reported. "He then turned back around to face forward, repeatedly shaking his head no."

The hearing concluded without a ruling, but Merchan indicated that he was likely to find Trump in violation of his gag order once again, appearing most perturbed by his comments on the jury.

Prosecutors are not yet asking for any jail time, seeking to minimize any disruption to the ongoing trial. But they are seeking more fines, with Christopher Conroy of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office saying Trump's comments on witnesses and jurors create an "air of menace" that is "corrosive" to the cause of justice, according to NBC News.

Really, nothing short of actually gagging Donald and taking away his phone will stop him from continuing to violate his gag order. But hey, endless petty fines are the word of the day I guess. No real consequences like sending him to jail and letting him out to attend his own trial and then back to jail because he can't stop himself from violating the gag order.

[Gorsameth]

I vote for literally gagging Trump in the court room. He is probably familiar with having a ball gag in his mouth.

[Poopymonster]

I vote for literally gagging Trump in the court room. He is probably familiar with having a ball gag in his mouth.

That's how you get a Seale level mistrial.

[Edge-]

https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/...o/73467225007/

In his latest attempt to undo the charges against him, former President Donald Trump invoked the names of political rivals who he says retained classified documents and received no more than a slap on the wrist. Chief among them: President Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence.

Trump could spend years in federal prison if he's convicted of hoarding classified documents in his Mar-a-Lago estate, but the former president argued in a motion Thursday that the only thing he's guilty of is being Biden's "chief political rival."

The presumptive Republican nominee again asked U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to dismiss the 40-count indictment against him and cut short what he and his supporters have deemed a vindictive prosecution. Trump is the only former president or vice president prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice for mishandling classified documents.

Donald, again, asking Cannon to dismiss his case because "other people took documents too!"

Trump attorneys Todd Blanche and Chris Kise gave Cannon a list of other former officials who they say acted similarly to Trump, but against whom "no one in the government lifted a finger." Special Counsel Robert Hurr declined to press charges against Biden despite finding evidence that he retained and disclosed highly classified materials when he was a private citizen.

Notably absent is the fact that Donald lied about having these documents, repeatedly, and refused to return them, requiring a FBI raid for the government to get back their own documents.

The lawyers took aim at Trump's former vice president, too, telling Cannon that Pence told the National Archives and Records Administration he accidentally brought home a small number of classified documents after his term in the White House ended. Relations between Trump and Pence have become strained since Pence refused to overturn Trump's loss to Biden in Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.

Case in point: Pence checked and found he'd brought some documents. Told the National Archives and returned them, no further action needed.

Blanche and Kise further wrote that allegations that Trump tried to stymie a federal investigation aren't unique, either. They pointed to Hillary Clinton, who used a private email server for official communication during her tenure as secretary of state.

And he still can't stop being mad about Hillary.