With opening arguments beginning this morning in the hush money trial of former president Donald Trump, some of his top advisers have decided that a guilty verdict is a done deal. And they fear such a result would doom the fading chance Trump has of winning in the November election.
Maggie Haberman of the New York Times notes that there’s a sense of impending doom hanging over the Trump inner circle, if only because the ex-president is stuck in court for the next several weeks and therefore unable to effectively campaign.
Additionally, comments from prospective jurors make it painfully clear for Trump’s top advisers that a mistrial is not likely to happen because the evidence against Trump is overwhelming and he’s not a very sympathetic figure.
“Some of those opinions have been negative, with one potential juror made to read aloud her old social media posts blasting him as a sociopath and an egomaniac. The only times he has smiled have been when prospective jurors have referred to work of his that they have liked.
Haberman adds, “Many in Mr. Trump’s broader orbit are pessimistic about the case ending in a hung jury or a mistrial, and they see an outright acquittal as virtually impossible. They are bracing for him to be convicted, not because they cede the legal grounds, but because they think jurors in overwhelmingly Democratic Manhattan will be against the polarizing former president.”
Even if by some miracle Trump is found not guilty or somehow manages to skate on the charges against him, just the fact that he has to endure such a public humiliation could lead key voting blocs such as independents to write him off completely.
“… the shared sense among many of his advisers is that the process may damage him as much as a guilty verdict. The process, they believe, is its own punishment.”
Of course, the only person to blame for the current situation Trump finds himself in is Donald Trump. He allegedly committed the crimes he’s on trial for and should be treated the same as any defendant: Presumed innocent but punished if found guilty.
