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THE TRUMP SAGA FIRST DAY OF HUSH MONEY TRIAL ‘Just tired of these trials’: Why the MAGA crowd is so thin outside Trump’s New York trial ... It was a circus, but an unusually small one. Supporters of former President Donald Trump sit in Collect Pond Park across from the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse in New York City, on April 15, 2024, during the first day of Trump’s criminal trial for charges that he falsified business records. Jamie Kelter Davis for POLITICO Original article: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/15/trump-trial-supporters-maga-new-york-00152339 Peter Burgess COMMENTARY I cannot understand why the American 'wheels of justice' turn so slowly. Part of it has to do with doing legal work rigorously, but over time this has been a strategy used by lawyers in order to avoid legitimate justice. And, of course, this is going on in the case of everything to do with the multip;e legal cases against Donald Trump. In my opinion ... and the available reports about his behviors in private life and in his business life ... Donald Trump was unfit to run for high political office in the United States. The idea that he could be elected to be President of the United States suggests there is something 'rotten to the core' in the USA. The US Constitution recognises the important role the 'media' plays in the functioning of a country and a society ... but the 'framing' that was developed for independence in the late 1700s does not work particularly well in the much bigger and more complex situation of the 21st century. The situation is complicated even more by the way 'the law' has evolved since the Constutution was written. I think it was Winston Churchill who observed that democracy is a pretty bad system, but it is far the best one there is. Others have same that it requires work to keep a democracy functioning well. I would observe that a successful country will only emerge and survive with the active and constuctive involvement of its people AND its people need to be reasonably aware of the issues that are going to impact the country. In the United States at the present time the media seems to see politics as a commedy show to be milked for all the 'eyeballs' that it can sell to advertisers! Silliness trumps seriousness ... sorrty about the pun ... but there is something about the former President being named Trump that is more than a little ironic! In the modern world there is a lot more of most 'things' than when I was a child in the 1940s and 1950s and especially flows of information. But there is a lot less 'understanding'. While there is a lot more knowledge in the world. most people know much less of it than their grandparents! Churchill remarked that 'democracy' is the best system although it is pretty awful ... but Prime Minister Gladstone during the Victorian era observed that everyone having a vote was a ridiculous proposition ... it could only result in the election of incompetent but popular people ... or something to that effect. Certainly the election of Trump to anything supports the view espoused by Gladstone! So the question that is now in play is whether or not the US legal system is up to the task at hand ... and whether the media will get serious about the issues that are facing the country ... that is, the USA ... and the world! I am cautiously optimistic. I hope I am right! Peter Burgess
‘Just tired of these trials’: Why the MAGA crowd is so thin outside Trump’s New York trial It was a circus, but an unusually small one. Written by ADAM WREN and EMILY NGO Monday 04/15/2024 05:08 PM EDT NEW YORK CITY — Beneath billowing, giant “Trump or Death” and “Trump 2024” flags, a few dozen supporters of Donald Trump gathered in a park across the street from the opening of his hush money trial. They were there to witness history: The first criminal trial of a former American president, now his party’s nominee. In the past, Trump has always been able to count on his supporters turning out en masse, from his signature rallies to the riot at the Capitol. But on Monday, at a pivotal moment for the MAGA movement and Trump’s campaign, the faithful were uncharacteristically quiet. Even among supporters so loyal they were drawn to an event publicized as a “rally for President Trump” organized by the New York Young Republican Club, the endless litany of Trump’s legal proceedings seemed to be wearing on them. More than two hours after the rally was scheduled to begin, demonstrators were still heavily outnumbered by hundreds of members of the news media, including from as far away as Germany. Trump supporters waved flags in Collect Pond Park across from the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse on Monday. ... Jamie Kelter Davis for POLITICO A media scrum forms as supporters of former President Donald Trump yell at anti-Trump protester Laurie Arbeiter (not visible) in Collect Pond Park outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse. More than two hours after a pro-Trump rally was scheduled to begin, demonstrators were still heavily outnumbered by hundreds of members of the news media. ... Karsten Moran for POLITICO “It’s 9 a.m. on a Monday in New York City, and you’re asking Republicans to show up, mostly people who generally work,” said Vish Burra, the executive secretary of the club and a former aide to disgraced former Rep. George Santos of New York. Burra maintained the rally was larger than expected because “of how quickly we announced it — basically over the weekend.” But the trial — and expected protests — had been looming over the campaign for weeks. And it is not as though the MAGA faithful who did turn out were unaware of the stakes, or their own sense of duty to represent the former president in the first of the four criminal investigations he faces. Inside the courthouse, just before entering the courtroom, Trump did speak. “This is political persecution — this is a persecution like never before, nobody has ever seen anything like it and again it’s a case that should have never been brought, it’s an assault on America and that’s why I am very proud to be here,” Trump said. No one had seen anything like this before, and those outside the courthouse didn’t seem to know what to do. Should they stand quietly in solidarity? Should they chant? And so they did. They chanted “Trump 2024” and “Judge Merchan recuse yourself” and “Fire Tish James” and “Fire Alvin Bragg,” though none of those verses that singled out Trump’s favorite foes seemed to endure longer than a few seconds. Under a cerulean New York sky, the protesters just took in the scene that few could quite process. Conservative political activist Laura Loomer speaks with members of the media outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse. “We have to be [Trump's] voice,' said Laura Loomer (center), the former congressional candidate and conspiracy theorist who wore a black and white T-shirt that read, “DONALD TRUMP DID NOTHING WRONG.' Karsten Moran for POLITICO Their soundtrack was the clatter of construction on the jail down the street from the courthouse, the sporadic honking of a jacked-up truck flying Trump flags and playing a pro-Trump rap song while circling the block, and an anti-Trump protester playing “The Star-Spangled Banner” balefully on his flute. Trump’s most ardent defenders wanted to be here. “I think history is going to look back at this trial and see that this was the beginning of the end for our country,” said Mike Davis, the conservative legal firebrand who has appointed himself as Trump’s “viceroy of D.C.” should he win a second term. He arrived in town at 1 a.m. after jetting here from a wedding in Nashville, and stood in the media corrals, defending the former president in a blitz of hits on right-leaning outlets. Detractors were just as enthused, and all of them committed to the bit amid this historic backdrop. “It’s kind of sleepy,” said Marni Halasa, a figure skating coach and part of what she called a “theatrical protest group.” She wore sequined boots and a leopard print leotard festooned with a flurry of fake $100 bills and held a sign that said “FELONY,” one of several costumed onlookers. Another man wore a Santa shirt and identified himself only as “Hungry Santa,” gave his age as “immortal,” and said he hailed from “the North Pole.” One impersonator dressed as Trump brought a bag of Chick-fil-A with him. Another person performed a parody skit as Donald Trump Jr. Bill Christeson, a 70-year-old activist, came up from Washington. Asked whether the trial — and a possible conviction — would change the trajectory of the race, he whipped out a sign that read: “It’s not about the mushroom” — a bodily reference used by Stormy Daniels, the porn star at the center of the case — “follow the money.” An anti-Trump protester played “The Star-Spangled Banner” balefully on his flute. Jamie Kelter Davis for POLITICO “It’s kind of sleepy,” said Marni Halasa, carrying a sign reading FELONY who wore sequined boots and a leotard and festooned with a flurry of fake $100 bills. Jamie Kelter Davis for POLITICO At one point in the morning, in dueling demonstrations, the former president’s supporters chanted, “Donald Trump did nothing wrong,” while his detractors chanted, “No one is above the law. Trump is not above the law.” For both Trump’s supporters and antagonists, it was not only history they had come to see unfold. They were also bearing witness to what will count for much of the setting of his campaign trail, at least for the next several weeks or, possibly, months. “In some ways, for four days a week, this is where the campaign has to be stationed,” said Andrew Giuliani, the son of the former New York City mayor and former personal attorney to Trump. A person holding a TRUMP flag sits on a bench (center) as Andrew Giuliani talks with people outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse on Monday. Karsten Moran for POLITICO In an interview, Guiliani said he was here to support a politician who has been like an uncle to him. He cut a contrast in his suit and tie with some others in the small crowd who wore T-shirts — “LOUD MAJORITY,” one read. He lamented what he called “these coordinated political prosecutions against Donald Trump.” Cara Castronuova, a Newsmax personality and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in New York, all but acknowledged the pro-Trump crowd was small, but noted the anti-Trump crowd was even smaller and less coordinated. “I just think that people are kind of just tired of these trials, and they know that they really mean nothing between the persecution of Donald Trump throughout the country, Rudy Giuliani and all of his allies,” she said of the handful of Trump supporters in the park across the street from the courthouse. LATEST TRUMP HUSH MONEY TRIAL COVERAGE TrumpTrialDay.KM.002.jpg And on the third day, Trump rested. Why the hush money trial goes dark on Wednesdays. 20240416-Trump-Trial-Day-2-Pool.jpg On Day 2, Trump met some of his jurors. His lawyers met their social media accounts. UseUntil.05.16.2024.TrumpTrial.007.jpg Trump moves to flip the script on New York trial MOST READ The reality of being a criminal defendant on trial finally dawned on Trump. He didn’t take it well. Supreme Court takes its deepest plunge into Jan. 6, with possible implications for Trump A tax mystery: Why are fewer people getting refunds? ‘Just tired of these trials’: Why the MAGA crowd is so thin outside Trump’s New York trial ‘This Seems to Be a Major Strategic Error on the Part of Iran’

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