So at 11:00 a.m. ET, #Trump posts on Truth Social calling Judge Merchan's courtroom a "kangaroo court" and calling on Merchan to recuse himself. Trump also assails the gag order, (falsely) claiming that he cannot defend himself.
This while we await a ruling from Judge Merchan on Trump's 10 violations of the #GagOrder... #TrumpTrial#legal
@GottaLaff If a similarly-situated defendant would be jailed for violating the gag order, then Trump should be as well. There won't be mass protests in the streets, and if he spent 6-8 hours in a cold cell after trial with no access to electronics, any voter that gives him "street cred" with has already drunk the Kool-Aid.
The greater danger to the legal system is not punishing Trump, but letting a powerful defendant believe, with justification, that he's above the law.
@CarlG@GottaLaff he's been above the law since the 80s, and any damage to be done by not holding the politically powerful to task was done by Nixon and Reagan and you pick the scumbag.
We're not seeing the death of the legal system, we're watching the corpse continue to rot.
@CarlG@GottaLaff
The trouble is that there has never actually been a similarly-situated defendant. I worry about peoples' justified anger at him helping to make him into a martyr that might help him regain power whereas the more he talks and whines the more Americans will be glad when he does finally get his just desserts.
@GreenFire@GottaLaff This sounds like a heckler's veto. Trump's hard-core supporters already regard him as a martyr (comparisons to Christ) for being prosecuted.
I don't see that punishing Trump for violating a court order would cause anyone not already supporting him to view him more sympathetically.
If his supporters protest, fine (although that's not happened so far). If they act lawlessly, they are arrested, and it reminds the rest of the country how Trump inspires the worst in people.
@CarlG@GottaLaff
My reading of our electorate is that a third support democracy and the rule of law, a little less than a fifth support populist authoritarianism, about a quarter are subject to be swayed either way depending how they feel that particular day and the rest don't care.
I don't want to risk losing my constitutional democracy by making an avoidable error, but you can just call me a heckler if you want for sharing my opinion of course if that's what you want.
@GreenFire@GottaLaff Kevin - I have respect for your posts, and was in no way calling you the heckler.
The "heckler" in my analogy are the unknown Trump supporters, fear of whom causes the law to decide to impose a double-standard and let Trump get away with conduct which a similarly-situated defendant would be punished for.
I think Trump is underestimating how being a convicted felon will hurt him with everyone outside of his base, and the same applies to being a "martyr" if jailed.
@CarlG@GottaLaff
Yeah, I thought of that after reading your reply and thought about going back to edit, but didn't for which I apologize. Been moving through a few conversations.
In general, basically I think except for the Trump appointed judges and too many SCOTUS justices most of our judges are doing a pretty damn good job dealing with unprecedented shit.
I just don't trust Murdoch and even most of our traditional mainstream media to help explain things to voters very well.
@GreenFire@CarlG@GottaLaff that's a good point. Regular judges now have to contend with every ruling being overturned by corrupt judges. There's potential for the assbags to use "reactionary judgements" to overturn god knows what.
They have to be very careful in ways the screaming dipshits do not.
@GottaLaff What do we expect. Bannon is still advising him. So Trump floods the zone with shit. He WANTS to be carted off to a holding facility. He's mimicking the Falun Gong, inviting persecution. It's also the PBCC way.
@GottaLaff he's daring the judge. If the judge doesn't respond, he wins. If the judge responds, he 'thinks' he wins. Merchan has to respond. Literally, what would a normal defiant defendant face? A day, a month ... fines won't do it given his status unless you make the fine $100K per incident.
@GottaLaff he’s itching to get thrown in a cell supposedly to fire up his cult.
He belongs in a cell until his trial ends but I don’t want him to play martyr to the magats.
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