Donald Trump is now calling the shots in his criminal trial defense – and he’s making a huge mistake

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Donald Trump was already firmly on his way to losing this criminal trial before Stormy Daniels took the stand. Her testimony helped to further move Trump toward felony conviction. But if you’re looking for one moment that demonstrated precisely why Trump is going to lose this trial, it came on Thursday during cross examination.

While Trump’s defense attorney was supposed to be trying to poke holes in Stormy Daniels’ testimony about Trump’s crimes, they made a point of stopping to ask Daniels to confirm that Trump was the most famous person at the event where she says she had sex with Trump. Then Trumps’s attorney tried to get Daniels to say that Trump is good at golf.

This all sounds like something from The Onion. But actual reporters, who were in the courtroom, confirmed this really did take place. It’s abundantly clear now that Trump’s attorneys aren’t trying to win this trial, they’re just trying to keep a fragile Trump happy in the moment.

This was further underscored when Trump’s attorneys asked that Trump be exempt from his gag order so he can respond publicly to Stormy Daniels’ testimony. These are, pretty obviously, things that Trump himself is demanding. They have zero chance of being granted, but that doesn’t matter.

And so Donald Trump, a guy who has slept through much of this trial while confusedly fist bumping a witness who had just given damning testimony against him, is now calling the shots when it comes to his trial defense. This would be a bad idea even if he were mentally competent. In his current condition, this is going to be a complete farce.

It's been a tough week, a tough month, a tough year. For all of us. But the fight goes on. Because we know how important this is. Because we care. Because we're the ones who fight. It's you and me. It has been for a decade. And I'm never backing down. But Palmer Report does have operating expenses. And in this uncertain time, I truly need your help. For that reason I've launched the Palmer Report 2025 Operating Expenses Fund. If we can fully fund this, it'll bridge the gap and ensure that Palmer Report can keep fighting now and forever. I'm asking you to contribute what you can to our GoFundMe Page or our PayPal Page, both of which accept debit and credit cards. Thank you.