It will be interesting to see how Donald Trump responds to this. He’s got a rock and a hard place decision to make here. Trump loves his MAGA rallies and all the attention but the attention he gets in a courtroom is nothing that he loves. He’s gone out of his way to stage “Perry Mason moments” and they don’t work in real life like the do on TV.
Now Judge Tanya Chutkan has given Trump a deadline, two weeks from now, to see if he approves or disapproves of live coverage of his March 4, 2024 trial arising out of the January 6 Capitol riot which he incited. There are two schools of thought on which way he’ll jump — or, his lawyers might advise him to jump: One, he’s a media whore and won’t be able to resist the cameras coming in, or two, he’s going to look bad in court and it would be to his advantage to not allow it — and he knows it. A coalition of media outlets, ABC News, CBS News, CNN and C-SPAN, petitioned the court in the first place to allow video coverage or alternatively, audio coverage only. The audio coverage might be preferable because it would protect jurors’ identities. Then Trump wouldn’t look so bad, he would only sound stupid.
He will definitely so no. The truth will crush any chances of freedom from prosecution, if his supporters turn on him.
— gnippie (@bornnakeddd) October 27, 2023
Now there’s an interesting hypothesis. Could Trump’s supporters turn on him? I don’t know. But if they see him break character and appear like the stupid, weak man he actually is and not the smug, know it all, man of the world that he poses to his followers as, then maybe it could happen.
It’s certainly worth a shot to find out, IF Trump’s lawyers will let it happen and I’m betting they won’t.
This is all valid. Trump’s lawyers will undoubtedly say no and Trump may overrule them. I’m sure they tried to reason with him on the Perry Mason moments and were overruled. But then again, if they’re getting paid hazard duty, they may decide to go along with whatever he wants, because they know the outcome anyway.
November 10th is Trump’s deadline. TV crews, stand back and stand by.
Surely the TV coverage can be sufficiently restricted to avoid showing the jurors! They need to be protected from the heavily armed loonies Trump would certainly call upon to act in his defence.
You would certainly think so. It’s not technically difficult, you can distort a voice, if necessary, and also put a filter on the image to where a person’s identity is protected.
they could be behind a screen, or even attending by closed circuit TV. things like this have been done before
Flip a coin. He will be told no. He will want to do tv to look like a victim to his base. Anybody’s guess.
Him playing the victim card also makes him look stupid. When he ran out of the courtroom the other day, after his Perry Mason moment bombed, he had an enraged expression and he sounded like an idiot. Even MAGAs know when somebody’s losing it.
But you’re right, it is a hard shot to call.
Don’t count on it. 12 years in the South aka Trump Country have convinced there is no nadir he can reach that will.peel of his cultists. They have way too.much invested in him as the Second Coming, and turning against him.would mean admitting they were taken for a ride. Duels were fought over less, and dueling hung on as a custom much longer in the South (probably because pistols at dawn in New England would leave you a popsicle and no one wants to go out so “dishonorably” or, to.be honest, looking like that big an idiot).
I think it’s a stroke of genius on Judge Chutkan’s part, by putting the choice in his hands.
I also like the suggestion of making it pay per view and applying the proceeds to the national debt that he is partially responsible for.
Trump is as caught up in this too,
no way he changes,Im convinced he’ll push it till remand, be aware, this has never happened before, appearances are important
bank it, he’ll be found in contemt.
The big picture, Meadows will testify, just enough he’s greasy, Trump knows this, 🙄
so ,yeah I know
who’s the Republican nominee 🤔
it’s a legitimate question
one passing anecdote, that’s a year away,
I’m a totally different person since Covid 19
I’m surprised by nothing
Trump is a predictable idiot, over the blood red years he has consistently done the absolute opposite of what he is, “told”, because he does not, in any case accept orders from anyone … See how his response to the gag orders is easily a broken record … Come out to the mics and blow the Judge off …
He simply cannot control his mealy mouth, his illness is that he is ALWAYS RIGHT, he is never able to hold off on his projections and to blindly accept that he needs to modify his conduct for a mere Judge … After all, he WAS the president of the US, proven in so many ways to be wrong at every turn … The flash lamps go off in a blinding array around him as he leaves the Courtroom, his body goes rigid and his mind sees another opening to say, “SOMETHING”, but, his stupidity causes a blurted out combination of words that pin his ears back as they blow right through the air and land on the media’s sensitive mics … The Judge will have no choice but to put him in bright orange coveralls, which he SHOULD be required to wear every time he is delivered back to court …
He has always done the wrong things to be the star of the moment, even if it endangers our Country … He truly IS a real and present danger to us all …
Maybe the Magas will see his defeat and the mental midget he really is?
They don’t care. Maggots don’t care. They don’t care that he’s a rapist. They don’t care that he abuses women and he’s a misogynist. They don’t care that he’s a racist. They don’t care he’s a criminal. They just don’t care. Republicans don’t care about evidence, they don’t need proof, they have morons!
Correct me if I’m wrong but I’m seeing a nuance that if I’m correct some are missing. From your article my impression is that Judge Chutkan is asking for Trump’s formal OPINION on WHETHER to allow live TV. (or audio) That’s a quite difference prospect than giving Trump himself the choice. The way I see it, she wouldn’t have tossed this out there in the first place without having run it by Chief Justice Roberts first as cameras have never been allowed in federal courtrooms before. That’s a huge shit IF it happens. The same would be true of a live audio only feed. Even though SCOTUS puts out audio of oral arguments they don’t do it live. There’s always a delay.
Anyway, at the very least judge Chatkan was given approval to explore this but again, from where I sit in the end it will be HER decision. Not Trump’s. Or Jack Smith’s for that matter, and I’m sure she’s also sent the same inquiry to him as to Trump. I of course am for live video and audio of it all. Protecting juror’s identities shouldn’t be a problem. Everyone can (and should) be searched when entering the courtroom and phones/recording devices can be placed in a small locker outside in the hall that will get locked up with someone standing guard. If they exit to go outside and do an interview they can retrieve it if they want, but whether for that or if they just have to use the head they get searched before re-entering the courtroom.
There can (and should) be multiple camera angles in the courtroom. One would show the judge up on the bench. Another the witness box. Cameras should be focused on both the prosecution and defense tables, and each could be extended sideways to include a lectern they stand at when asking questions. Or one on the lectern itself. Finally, there could be an overhead camera that could do a wide-shot of the gallery.
A neutral party like C-SPAN could handle the production. All the networks would get the live feeds of all the cameras individually and of course the one that is shown on the TV screen at any given time. It will be a difficult task for the producers and directors each day but it can and should be done.
In any event, Trump will lose any chance to manufacture another false report on Court actions and he will be stymied from trying any fancy dances around the truth this time …
Your take on this, Dennis, is absolutely a valid idea, Trump’s still the world’s biggest loser and the National Records will show how the GOP has failed ALL OF US AS WELL …
The judge should not be asking. Of course the trial(s) should be televised!
No way is he a yes. If he can’t control the narrative he’s out. I’m totally surprised she would go for it but it is something that most of the country, including myself, would want. But it can only hurt him, he’ll keep doing “his show “ on the side. We’ll just have wait each day for court room media to report during breaks. Too bad the phones will be taken, no up to the minute X tweeting.
Nothing…and I mean absoposilutely NOTHING could affect the MAGA love for him. If that were so, they would kicked his can to the side of the road a long time ago. What happens in court will be meaningless to them, they’ll fault the judge and jury before they let go of his coattails.
Kay, where did this “quote” by tRump come from? If he really said this and the Republi-chickens STILL chose him as their standard bearer, they all really DID drink his Kool-Aid and they all deserve to go down the tubes with him! (And one true statement I do remember him saying was, “I love the poorly educated,” in response to a poll while he was running for president the first time. He definitely wasn’t lying about THAT! And the poorly educated didn’t understand what he meant when he said it. How sad.
This is an EASY-PEASY call. There’s no way in hell he’s allowing a camera. A camera or microphone takes away his ability to manipulate the narrative. Camera/microphone takes away his ability to say ‘the witness proved our case’ and instead GIVES the media ‘how do you respond to the judge saying THERE’S ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO FILL THE COURT ROOM’? And his zombie horde HEARING ‘theres enough evidence to fill a court room’ on one day might be something they can ignore, but a month of hearing the court room FULL of Evidence or hearing the judge say ‘I don’t find you credible’. No. He’s not allowing a camera.