Gadfly
Donald Trump said it best, back in the 1980’s, before anyone expected the New York braggadocio to be a serious candidate for any office. He said, that it was better to be in the press for anything, good or bad, than not to be mentioned at all.
He reiterated that message in 2015, when he was a “gadfly” candidate for President that no one took seriously. The Republican Party had “serious” candidates, Governors Bush, Christie and Kasich, among others. The failed casino owner and television star of “The Apprentice” wouldn’t have a chance in a “normal” year. But Donald Trump took the lessons of the 1980’s to heart. He was constantly on the air, calling into liberal MSNBC’s flagship program “Morning Joe” show day after day. And he said the most outrageous things, like; “…he’s a war hero because he got captured. I like people who don’t get captured,” about Senator John McCain.
Cancelling Out
2016 was like that 9th grade math class, where we learned to “cancel out”. It was this number cancels that number, and cross them off. Simple math: Christie cancels out Bush, Kasich cancels out Walker, Paul cancels out Cruz. In the end all that was left was Donald Trump, who managed to win a plurality of the primary votes, but no majorities until the “equation” was solved. And then he was the candidate for President.
So I try not to write about Donald Trump. I figure I’m just (in a very small way) giving him what he wants, needs, craves, “jones for”: attention. But it’s hard not to write about the plight Donald Trump finds himself in today.
Day in Court
He got all the attention yesterday, across three different venues. In his old home town, New York City, the State Attorney General Letitia James laid out civil charges against Trump, his family, his company, and its employees. She accused them of what Trump has always bragged of: cheating the system. In over two hundred pages James brought charges against Trump and his business that carry a “civil” death penalty. If New York wins the lawsuit, then Trump and his family are banned from running their companies, banned from getting loans to extend their pyramid scheme real estate deals, banned from participating in the market. When Trump’s loans come due, there will be no “new bank” to carry him, at least, not a bank that does business in New York.
And the conservative 11th Court of Appeals of the United States slapped down Trump’s arguments for “Presidential Privilege” in the FBI search case. Trump was able to find a friendly District Court Judge who literally made the arguments that his attorneys failed to do. Her rulings flipped normal court process on its top; but the Appeals court righted the ship. They said the obvious: classified documents are classified – and don’t belong in boxes scattered around a Florida country club. The Appeals Court ruled that the FBI could continue their investigation into what America’s most classified materials were doing at Mar-A-Lago.
Special Master
And the “Special Master” that Trump and his attorneys both agreed to, met with attorneys for both sides on Tuesday. He also put the Court back on course, requiring Trump’s attorneys to explain why Trump should have classified materials. When they refused to argue the point, he gave credit to the government – they had the whole classification process on their side.
Bad days in Court for Donald Trump. But it was a good day in the “media”. Trump got an hour sit down with buddy Sean Hannity on Fox. He played the “victim” of FBI abuse: “I can’t even find my Last Will and Testament”. Hannity asked if he was named in it.
And Trump became the “lead” headline on almost every news show, every newspaper in the country. He couldn’t ask for anything better, even in the 80’s.
New Season
The January 6th Committee is back for a “new season”. It’s not a television series, but Chairman Thompson and Vice Chairman Cheney are orchestrating it like one. We left with the minute by minute of a President watching “Rome Burn” on January 6th. Now they’ll open with “the plot” behind the riots. Just like the network crimes shows and their fall premieres, the Committee returns on September 28th. To further “stir the plot”, Supreme Court Justice spouse Ginny Thomas will talk to the committee. We’ll have to wait and see if she makes “prime time”.
The election fraud investigation in Atlanta has “gone silent” until after the election. But make no mistake, Fani Willis, the Fulton County Prosecutor, is pursuing charges at the highest level. Her last words before going quiet: some of these charges will require jail terms.
A quick aside: so many of those willing to stand against Trumpism are powerful women like James in New York, Cheney in Washington, Willis in Atlanta. It makes the men who folded to Trump; “powers” like Rubio, Graham, Cruz, McConnell, and Ryan; seem even more puny.
Good News for Democrats
While Trump may see all this publicity as “good” for him – it’s probably not so good for the Republican Party. They are trying to build their mid-term campaign around inflation, immigration and crime. Governor DeSantis is willing to spend millions of Florida taxpayer dollars for “stunts” to press the immigration issue home, and it worked for a couple of days. But with Trump’s troubles, the focus is shifting back to one of the Democrats top concerns: democracy is at stake. That message is pretty simple – a vote for a Republican is a vote for Donald Trump, a vote for the Insurrection, and a vote against women.
All of Trump’s legal troubles puts the Democratic message up front. And that’s good news for democracy.
