As much as I’ve written about it, and my feelings and predictions, I have been waiting patiently to see exactly how Traitor Tot would actually react in the moment that shit just got real. And he didn’t disappoint. He pouted like a four-year-old.
I could already tell it wasn’t going well early. Before His Lowness even left Trump Tower, he took to Bullshit Social to express his astonishment at his predicament, Unbelievable! In a few minutes they’re actually going to arrest me, book me, and arraign me! How is this possible in America? Sounds like somebody finally got the memo, just five minutes before the meeting was set to start, and he hadn’t done any prep.
You gotta remember, this is the same Franken Trump that was reportedly strutting around Mar-A-Lago practicing his perp walk, and asking staff and aides if he should smile for the cameras in the hallway. What a difference staring the real thing in the face makes, I guess.
Trump looked terrible. When he left Trump Tower, he took the shortest route from the front door to the car that was in camera range. Trump wanted this to be his Gotti moment, but he just couldn’t quite keep his chin high enough for that Mussolini effect. Trump turned his head to the right and gave one halfhearted wave to a small number of supporters across the street. He barely got his fingers straight for the wave. There was no pumped fist, and no smile.
It was no different when he got to the courthouse. Trump got out, took a quick look left to wearily wave to another handful of supporters, and then just turned and walked inside, shoulders straight but heavy. And that’s the last we saw of Trump for a while.
And while no cameras were allowed in the processing area, I don’t need them. As I said previously, I went through processing once, although I was never actually arrested. And if Trump actually thought that his $5000 suit, perfectly coiffed hair, razor shave, $1500 cologne and power red tie was going to intimidate these people, he needs to be put away in a quiet room somewhere. The first rule of criminal booking is that you never make eye contact. Who0ever is standing in front of you is just another scumbag. And that’s exactly what Trump is, just another smooth talking street thug. His processing would have been cool, impersonal, and not in the slightest bit defferential. A humbling experience for a clinical narcissist like Trump.
Which brings us to the next photo op. Trump was led out of one blacked out window door, took a few steps, turned left, and entered the courtroom. Trump walked straight, and fuck the smile, his face was a stone idol. I don’t know if his placement of his hands as having crossed wrists was intentional or not. And then Trump was out of sight again.
And into the 7th level of Dante’s hell. Trump’s lawyers had fought tooth and nail to keep network cameras from the courtroom, claiming it would create a circus atmosphere, detrimental to their client. Apparently nobody pointed out that it was their client who wears the Bozo costume and the round red nose. The judge barred cameras from the courtroom, but allowed still photographers in the jury box until he gaveled the proceeding to order.
Which led to the moment that Trump never wanted made public. A crystal clear of Trump sitting at the table, surrounded by lawyers reading or conferring with each other, stony faced. When I saw that photo, the first thing that came to my mind was the Bill Pullman line in Spaceballs, Ohhh, Princess, you’re ugly when you pout! And it was a full out pout, aimed at a then empty judge’s desk. Trump was clearly absolutely furious at the treatment he had received, and he already knew that the worst was yet to come.
And it did. Because for the first time in his life, Trump was being told what to do, and by people he didn’t dare to defy, because they and they alone held the power. But his previous churlish conduct just dragged the torture out.
In America the average criminal arraignment takes about 10 minutes. 15 minutes tops. The clerk calls the case, the two sides agree to waive having the charges read into the record, The defendant makes plea, and the judge either sets bail, or holds the defendant over for a bail hearing in the nest 24-28 hours. A criminal court judge with an arraignment docket is basically an assembly line in the wheels of justice.
Trump’s arraignment took 57 minutes. And a good portion of that was because Trump just never knows when to STFU! The prosecution complained to the judge about the defendant’s inflammatory and threatening language, and the defense bitched about a prosecution witness, Michael Cohen, shooting his mouth off all the time on television. And basically the judge told them both to cut out the shit!
And Trump had to sit there and take it. He had to sit there and listen to a guy whose annual salary is less than what Trump’s suits are worth lecture him on what he can and cannot say going forward. And his attorneys are going to tell him that he had better listen up, if he doesn’t want to find himself in contempt of court.
And then it was over. Trump power walked his way back down to his ride, the media breathlessly followed him back to LaGuardia, and filmed him going wheels up back to PBI. But the damage was done, and I’ll have more to say about that in my next article.
When they started showing the still photos of Trump at the defense table I had a flashback to the movie Full Metal Jacket, specifically the morning after the Tet Offensive kicked off. The officer in charge of Starts and Stripes gave his writers and photographers an overall view of what had taken place during the night and where things currently stood and it was for anyone old enough to remember that time a cluster-fuck to say the least. And the honcho said “in other words gentlemen it’s a huge shit sandwich, and we’re all gonna have to take a bite.”
Trump has spent years building a huge shit sandwich and taken savage pleasure in others having to take bits of it. But this afternoon, FINALLY he was forced to take a bite himself! And he’ll have to take many more in the weeks and months ahead. Part of me wants him to choke on one so we’ll be done with him. Another part however wants to see the increaingly sour looks on his face as he masticates a sandwich HE made from his own shit!
Denis, I couldn’t have put it better myself!!!
Calm seas do not produce skillful sailors. Trump had the good fortune by being born rich, white, male, having daddy’s mob connections, and daddy having more money than the 317 million his boy pissed away. He has a narcissistic personality disorder. It’s usually destructive to those in relationship with the narcissist. His circumstances, and the inherent elitism of our legal system, favoring the wealthy, has allowed him to commit nonstop crimes. It has also shielded him from consequences 95% of us would have encountered years ago. He’s always had it good in every way, except in being authentic, with a sense of self that included others, and learning how to be resilient. This kind of treatment in court today, while still ensconced in wealth and special treatment, is a wounding of his narcissism. Daddy’s gone. No one in his family will sacrifice for him or has the means to save him. He’s lost in a tempest. At sea, alone. Even his personality cult didn’t show up to save him. The blonde Georgia mouth of the south, didn’t back up her big talk. She ran after a few minutes and didn’t start a revolution. Today is as good as it gets for him for a long time. Maybe ever. I’m doubtful he’ll make it in the long run. 34 felonies. That’s a stormy sea! (no pun intended). He’s just not trained for this.
Malignant narcissism. NPD plus psychopathy is an ugly combo. The narcissist won’t shut up and makes anything good about him, and anything bad is someone else’s fault.
And the judge told him to STFU, and he can’t even manage that. Not that anyone expected him to do so.
It still should have been a full gag order. I understand why it wasn’t, but the country would have been spared his loud mouth/tiny hands for a while.
This is the first time he’s actually had to keep his mouth shut !
The beatings are just getting started.
Well I got news for trump. I have had a somewhat jaded past. Got in some little skirmishes with the law. But when I got in front of that last judge. I knew I was in deep shit. I had a good attorney that you had to know someone for him to take your case. He made a deal with the judge but when it was my turn judge looked at me and he said. I think you are lying your ass off about being clean of drugs and alcohol. Now I’m going to do what your attorney wants simply because I don’t think you can do it. Now if I here about you getting in trouble while you are still on probation from my court. You will go to prison for the entire sentence and then since we will know where you are we will start working on whatever you got arrested for. Now that will get your attention. And I been a good boy ever since. And that was 29 years ago. But if we go back to Trump. He can’t be a good boy for 29 minutes.