A lot of Republicans are on TV today in the aftermath of the Carroll trial, which found Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, to the tune of $5 million. Most of the GOPers you will hear are trashing the verdict in New York as they reaffirm their loyalty to Cantaloupe Caligula. Lindsey Graham was heard to opine that maybe Trump could be found “guilty of kidnapping the Lindbergh baby.”
A few Republicans here and there, Asa Hutchinson being one of them, are in touch with the reality that Trump is a real piece of work and that denying that is not in the best interests of the GOP. But with the exception of the few people who feel confident in cutting him loose, such as Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska or Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Trump’s stranglehold on the GOP seems to be the same as it was pre-verdict.
Stephanie Grisham, the White House press secretary who never gave a press conference, even when Stephen King and Don Winslow offered to donate $75,000 each to the charity of her choice, made it in front of the cameras today. She tells the story of how Trump was particularly enamored with the derriere of one of the staffers whom she supervised. What a terrific place to work the White House must have been in those years.
What a description of a work environment.
Dan Rather had an observation about today.
When people look back years from now at this jury decision, will they see it as a watershed moment that wasn’t fully appreciated at the time? Or will they see this as just another example, after so many, that this man can do anything, no matter how horrid, and still claim a slavish following among a large number of Americans, including a majority of the Republican Party?
One suspects it will be some of both.
First off, let us take care to be precise. This was a civil trial and not a criminal one. That means the former president will not be heading to prison, nor will he have a criminal record. It also means that the threshold for finding against him was lower. And he says he intends to appeal, which is his right.
Still, it is clear that the jury found Carroll’s testimony credible. And when you consider the story she told of the assault and her reasons for not coming forward sooner, the effect is harrowing.
It is fitting that the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape in which Trump bragged that when you’re famous, you can grab women anywhere on their body played a key role in this trial. When that confession was made public in 2016, its impact was dulled by the man’s subsequent election. It was understandable, in the aftermath, to conclude that it didn’t matter. Today in Manhattan, it mattered. This case, that tape, and the narrative they connect along with dozens of other credible accusations of sexual harassment and assault against Trump will be an indelible part of this man’s biography. With this development, as with so much else about him, history’s verdict will be harsh.
I’m sure history’s verdict will be harsh — granting for the sake of argument that Trump doesn’t manage to trash this country so badly that his minions write the history books themselves, in which case he’ll be a hero. My concern is the GOPers who still rush to defend him and in doing so normalize and excuse, even, this kind of behavior.
Trump’s corruption is one thing. But the larger issue, ever since Trump came down the escalator, is that the GOP enables his behavior. If that wasn’t true from the get go, we would not have gone through his election, his disastrous administration, or his attempted coup d’etat. Now we’re poised to go through yet a third campaign with him on the GOP ticket. That’s the problem. The GOP. Not Trump.
Nevertheless, Trump is very rattled. He has released a series of videos, which echo his comments on Truth Social about how “unfair” and biased the trial was. He’s either doing that because he needs to vent, and has chosen to do so publicly, or because he feels the need to defuse the bad publicity.
If it’s the latter, I’m not sure why, considering all the Republicans who are joining him in naysaying the importance of the trial.
” I’d rather be the hammer than the nail.” Paul Simon
There are no hammers in the GOP these days. To be a hammer, in this context, is to use initiative, to make something happen. They’re all hanging back, waiting to see what happens. No leadership.
The very definition of reactionaries.
He doesn’t understand that they only had to find that a little more than 50% of the evidence pointed at him. (In reality, it was much more.) Also, he’s confessed to doing the exact same thing, on camera, so he did it to himself.
He’s done it ALL to himself, but cannot see that. We’re all a bit tone deaf and blindsided when it comes to our own actions, but not like him.
He cannot go to prison from this civil trial. He will appeal. I anticipate that most courts will toss the appeals out because ‘not liking the verdict’ is not grounds for an appeal.
I also anticipate that, at the end, he will refuse to pay the $5M, and could get tossed in the clink for contempt of court. I have no doubt that he will grift much more than the $5M, for the stated purpose of paying, but will still choose to keep the money.
The resemblance in the photo is remarkable…my apologies to the hog.