(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Donald Trump’s upcoming criminal trials divide America and the world, not to mention his family [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-03 The world's media is fascinated by the indictment of Donald Trump. Image from Le Télé Journal, France, via Youtube. Donald Trump’s two sons were foaming at the mouth over the Manhattan grand jury’s decision last Thursday to charge their father with 34 counts of criminal misconduct, arising from alleged sexual activity with porn star Stormy Daniels. “Let's be clear, folks. This is like communist level shit”, fumed Don Junior. “This stuff would make Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot blush. It's so flagrant. It's so crazed ...” Little brother Eric also slammed the Manhattan decision on Saturday: “This is third world prosecutorial misconduct ...” In contrast, their sister Ivanka, who has disassociated her family from her father, issued a curt statement notable for what it didn’t convey: “I love my father, and I love my country. Today, I am pained for both. I appreciate the voices across the political spectrum expressing support and concern.” Was she outraged by the indictment? Did she support her father? Is he innocent of the charges? Apparently, no, no and no. Responses by political party Inside the USA, reactions to the charging announcement were divided largely along partisan lines. Virtually all Democrats and Independents, along with some moderate Republicans, responded favourably – no citizen is above the law; the USA does not have a king. The pro-Trump MAGA Republicans, in contrast, decried the charges as politically-motivated. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham issued a pathetic call to Trump’s supporters to send him money. “They’re trying to drain him dry. He’s spent more money on lawyers than most people spent on campaigns. Go tonight. Give the president some money to fight this bullshit!” he begged. These do not surprise. Republican office holders all know about one third of party members are fanatical Trumpists. The support of that cohort is essential for preselection and eventual re-election. This group is also particularly susceptible to appeals for money. Trump himself bragged on Saturday that his social media messages earned him US$4 million in donations in the first day after the indictment and millions more since. Reactions from heads of state There has been deathly silence from global leaders, with the exception of Mexico’s President López Obrador who observed before Thursday’s announcement that a Trump indictment could be an attempt to prevent his re-election. Vladimir Putin has kept quiet, in contrast to his public support for Trump during the 2019 impeachment hearing. No other national leader appears to have commented yet. World media reportage Naturally the charges against Trump have been front page news worldwide. But coverage has varied significantly. Unsurprisingly, Rupert Murdoch’s “news” outlets in Britain, Australia and the US slanted their coverage to support Donald Trump. Sky News in Australia used the subheading, ‘The former US president has called the indictment "political persecution" and his lawyers have said they will "vigorously fight" it.’ Sky featured a spirited defence of Trump’s innocence by one of his current lawyers. Most news reports reflected both celebration at the likely end of Trump’s destructive grift and Trump’s reactions of unhinged anger. Fear of violence Several reports highlighted the likelihood of political violence, as was seen in the 6 January 2021 insurrection. The headline in the French language news outlet Radio France Internationale translates as: ‘Donald Trump criminally charged: “There is little doubt that his base will be remobilized”.’ The article quoted a Canadian academic. Other outlets to mention violence included China’s Xinhua news agency which quoted instructions to ‘All uniformed members of the New York Police Department ... to be prepared for deployment ...’ Also in China, Sina Corporation’s finance journal focused on Trump’s money-making: ‘At present, the impact of Trump's indictment on the presidential election is unpredictable. On the one hand, the indictment could set back Trump's bid to return to the presidency ... on the other hand ... Trump immediately called on supporters to donate to his lawsuit.’ The world will watch the trial with fascination. Bring it on. * This is an abbreviated version of an article published today in Independent Australia. The original article is available here in full for free: https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/donald-trumps-upcoming-trials-divide-america-and-the-world,17391 * [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/3/2161774/-Donald-Trump-s-upcoming-criminal-trials-divide-America-and-the-world-not-to-mention-his-family Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/