Donald Trump’s desperate last stand falls apart
If you’ve spent more time watching fictional trials than real ones, you might think that trials always come down to a surprise witness flinging open the courtroom doors at the last second, or some other overly dramatic stunt. But in reality trials tend to come down to more clinical things like demonstrations of fact, and having an attorney who knows how to subtly thread legal needles.
When it comes to Donald Trump and his trials, his troubles are multifaceted. The facts are so overwhelmingly against him in every one of his trials, he wouldn’t be able to survive them even with the best of attorneys – and his attorneys are far from the best. If that weren’t bad enough, he’s so far gone from reality that he seems to be guiding them toward doing an even worse job than they’d otherwise be doing. And now that it’s all predictably failing, he’s (also predictably) trying to take the reins himself.
That all culminated in Trump trying to speak during his New York civil fraud trial on Thursday, effectively serving as his own attorney. In that moment he must have thought that he could deliver one of his trademark rants involving election conspiracy theories, and it would turn the entire trial on its head. After all, most mentally vacant conspiracy theorists truly believe that if they repeat their conspiracy theories emphatically enough, it’s going to sway everyone.
Instead Trump fell flat on his face. He was unable to understand how to stay within the bounds of a factual argument, and so the judge quickly shut him down. If Trump were as savvy and persuasive as he thinks he is, he could have found a way to make his closing argument while remaining within the rules of what you’re allowed to say. But Trump merely ended up demonstrating just how far in over his head he truly is.
We always sort of knew that after Trump got done blowing through so many attorneys, he’d end up trying to represent himself. And here we are. It’s going about as poorly as you’d expect. It’ll only get worse for Trump as he loses even more badly, becomes even more desperate, blames his own attorneys even more thoroughly, and further overestimates his ability to take the reins himself. As these trials go on, Trump may end up finishing himself off more quickly than prosecutors or judges can. Trump is a sinking ship, and he doesn’t understand that he’s the reason it’s sinking.
