Today is the worst day of Donald Trump’s life (so far)
Donald Trump spent his long weekend getting booed off stage and then standing in a parking lot waving to no one. It was utterly humiliating for him, but it was all just a series of self-inflicted political wounds. It’s nothing compared to what Trump is facing as today unfolds.
Trump did everything he could to keep today from ever happening. He tried to rig his own reelection, and then incited a domestic terrorist attack, to try to stay in office so he couldn’t be put on criminal trial. After getting booted from office, Trump and his team used every legal trick in the book to try to keep this trial from happening. And even as the trial has gone on, Trump has tried one feeble stunt after another to try to derail it.
But that was all for nothing, because here we are. Donald Trump’s criminal trial, in terms of the prosecution’s case and the defense’s case, is over. All that’s left is today’s closing arguments. Given that the prosecution has put on an overwhelming and highly corroborated case, and the defense didn’t put on anything that could even be called a case, there’s nothing that can be said today to change what’s already played out in this trial. Today is a formality. Barring a jury fluke, Trump has already lost.
Even as today plays out, Trump will have to sit there in court – for the portions of it that he’s awake at least – and ruminate on the fact that he’s about to become a convicted felon. He’s already whining on social media about how absurd it is that he’s going to be labeled a “common criminal.” But he’d better get used to it.
As excruciating as it’ll be for Trump to have to sit there helplessly today while prosecutors remind the jury of just how guilty he is, the one thing Trump has going for him today is that he’s still not been convicted yet. Once the closing arguments end, Trump’s fate will be in the hands of twelve people he’s never met, twelve people whose names he’ll never know, twelve people he can’t retaliate against. And by the end of this week, Trump will very likely hear the word “guilty” thirty-four times.
Trump won’t fall through an immediate trap door once he’s convicted. The judge will then have to decide what kind of punishment is on the table. Legal experts say that because these charges are the lowest level of felonies, they only result in a prison sentence about ten percent of the time. But given that Trump committed nearly three dozen of these lower level felonies, and the various other aggravating factors (including his misbehavior during the trial), the judge could indeed give him prison. Even if not, Trump could be looking at house arrest, probation, community service, an ankle bracelet, you name it.
Keep in mind that as a convicted felon, Donald Trump will run into questions about whether he’s even allowed to vote. That’s right, Trump could be the first-ever presidential candidate who’s legally prohibited from voting for himself. That’s how absurd of a notion it is that Trump would still be a viable candidate after this conviction. Then there’s the polling that says as many as 20% of Trump’s current voters could decide not to vote for him if he’s convicted. Remember, this was never about Trump’s base, and only ever about the Republican voters outside Trump’s base.
If the Republican National Convention really wants to go through with nominating Trump this summer after he becomes a convicted felon in this trial, so be it. That’s their mistake to make. Again, this is a guy who’s too senile to function in public, and whose campaign is being run by the kinds of idiots who just got him booed off the stage. Now he’s about to be a convicted felon on top of it. And that’s before getting to the one or two additional criminal trials that Trump could face before the election – each of which would come with far more serious felony charges and automatic lengthy prison sentences upon conviction.
So yeah, today is the worst day of Donald Trump’s life so far. But it’ll only get worse for him from here – and it’ll get worse for him quickly. Bring it on.
