With apologies to Digby For most on the right, pitching a hissy fit is a ploy to control the political narrative. A little phony sanctimony here, some faux outrage there, and plenty of echo-chamber volume, and Democrats run for cover. Maybe even beg forgiveness for something they did not do. But for Donald Trump, pitching a hissy fit is a way of life to which that Marvelous he is entitled. How dare any lesser being deprive him of his birthright? Yet, here Trump sits facing justice for falsifying business records and defrauding voters, a mere pleb in an ungilded New York City courtroom where hissy-fitting is not permitted. On Monday, Justice Juan Merchan explained to Trump just how things work in his domain (New York Times): As part of the pretrial housekeeping, Justice Juan Merchan delivered the so-called Parker warnings on courtroom behavior directly to the defendant, reminding him that he could be jailed if he disrupted the proceedings.
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Points for consistency If it feels odd advocating for U.S. aid to Ukraine to fight Vladimir Putin’s Russian invaders, join the club. Those of us who opposed Cold War proxy battles and geopolitical gamesmanship in remote corners of the planet half a century ago now find ourselves living in a more connected world. When a ship stuck in the Suez Canal can disrupt our lives here, what happens on NATO’s doorstep is equally of concern. Just as much as what happens between Israel, Gaza, and Iran. What’s confounding (or not) is how the formerly hawkish Republican Party that once feared commies in woodpiles have truned into Putin’s lapdogs. Perhaps it’s not surprising. Their positions have always been more performance than principle. Two stories from the New York Times concerning the fate of Ukraine.
He did it again today: I just heard CNN describe this as “Trump closed his eyes during jury questioning.” Ask yourself if they would be so euphemistic if Joe Biden was nodding off during his own criminal trial.
He was really spiraling during this period: He was very hostile to certain states during this period because they weren’t just rolling over for anxious re-opening of the country without adequate testing and supplies. Note how he characterizes one state as being 2,000 miles away as if it isn’t part of America — the country he was supposedly leading. His performance during that crisis should have made him a pariah in America and instead he’s a hero to almost half the population, so much so that they want him back. I’ll never stop being stunned by that.
It appears that Mike Johnson’s pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago to obtain Trump’s protection didn’t get the job done: Speaker Mike Johnson took the extraordinary step this morning of publicly announcing that he was “not resigning” after a second conservative GOP hardliner called for his ouster in a closed House Republican Conference meeting. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) stood up in the private meeting in the Capitol and said Johnson should “clean the barn” — clear out all pending controversial legislation — and announce he’s resigning so House Republicans can choose a new speaker. Massie also said he would support Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) motion to vacate resolution, which the Georgia Republican introduced several weeks ago. Greene has not sought to make it privileged, which would trigger a vote over whether to oust Johnson. This was the same process used to dump former Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year. The current wave of angst is due to Johnson’s introduction of a package of bills to send aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
You’re not seeing a huge change in rhetoric from the right wingers about those stats. Imagine that. In fact, Trump is out there every day screeching that US is a dystopian nightmare of “migrant crime” and people can barely leave their houses without being assaulted. Nothing new there. But the facts are clear. JV Last makes the case for Biden on this issue: The “Biden crime wave” was always proffered in bad faith because the “crime wave” appeared in 2020, while Donald Trump was president: 2020 saw the largest rise in the murder rate in American history. Now just because Biden inherited a problem doesn’t mean he gets a pass on its existence. When you’re president, you’re supposed to solve everyone’s problems, not just the ones that crop up during your administration. And here’s the data: All crime is down under Biden, with one exception. Violent crimes like murder and rape? Down. Property crimes like burglary and theft? Down. Crime in cities? Down. Crime in rural areas? Down. The lone exception is that car theft in metropolitan areas has gone up. That’s it. Like the man said: Take the W.
Trump is exhorting his cult to buy Truth Social stock. Here it is today: On March 27th it went to 79. A whole lot of MAGA cultists are losing their red, white and blue Trump shirts. Yahoo Finance reports: Truth Social Stock Crashes as Donald Trump Maneuvers to Sell His Own Shares Pulling the Ripcord Shares of Donald Trump’s social media meme stock tumbled yet again today, sinking over 16 percent Monday morning. The timing of the latest shellacking is particularly interesting: it comes after Trump made the first moves to cash out, likely leaving investors — who have already seen their holdings crumble — out to dry. As Bloomberg reports, Truth Social owner Trump Media & Technology (TMTG) filed to register shares, including ones that are linked to warrants — a sign that Trump and other executives are looking to cash out far sooner than September, at which point the obligatory six-month hold on sales would be over.
I’m sure you’ve heard that Mehdi Hassan was let go from MSNBC. It was a mistake. He’s opinionated and I don’t always agree with him but I do respect him. His interviews are among the best in the business. Anyway, he has a new media venture called Zeteo.com, (which you can subscribe to here) and has a Youtube channel here. I thought this was especially good: Here’s how it opens: If you’re one of those people even on the left who isn’t that concerned by the prospect of a Trump second term that it won’t be that bad, that we survived Trump the first time round then this next segment is for you. See I need you to hear me out and I need you to picture the scene. It’s January 20th 2025, inauguration day. You turn on the TV and Donald J Trump with his hand on his own God Bless the USA Bible is being sworn in as 47th president of the United States. Now the quadruple indicted new president makes his way back to the Oval Office and begins to make America great again again. And based on team Trump’s own words own proud promises here’s how his first 100 days could very well turn out.
The Washington Post reports on some of the MAGA faithful who are losing their nest eggs on Trump’s Truth Social stock: Jerry Dean McLain first bet on former president Donald Trump’s Truth Social two years ago, buying into the Trump company’s planned merger partner, Digital World Acquisition, at $90 a share. Over time, as the price changed, he kept buying, amassing hundreds of shares for $25,000 — pretty much his “whole nest egg,” he said. That nest egg has lost about half its value in the past two weeks as Trump Media & Technology Group’s share price dropped from $66 after its public debut last month to $32 on Friday. But McLain, 71, who owns a tree-removal service outside Oklahoma City, said he’s not worried. If anything, he wants to buy more. “I know good and well it’s in Trump’s hands, and he’s got plans,” he said. “I have no doubt it’s going to explode sometime.” Even the $3.5 billion loss in value since its debut last month hasn’t deterred them. Neither has the fact that it lost $58 million last year and only had 4 millionin revenues.
Move over O.J. A trial like no one’s ever seen. Hush. It’s not about money. The Donald Trump trial that begins jury selection in Manhattan today is about what elevates payments funneled to a porn star through a shall company to the level of felony. A once-skeptical Mark Joseph Stern explains at Slate, “The falsification of business records is, by itself, a misdemeanor under New York law, but it’s a felony when it’s done with the ‘intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof.’” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s pretrial briefing erased Stern’s doubts left over from the initial indictment. Stern writes: Bragg has argued, convincingly, that the former president intended to violate at least two election laws—one state, one federal. First, Bragg asserted that Trump and Cohen ran afoul of the Federal Election Campaign Act by making unlawful campaign contributions (in the form of a payoff) at the direction of a candidate (that is, Trump).