(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Trump chose today’s spectacle for his own personal advantage [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: 2023-04-04 According to a report by Jana Winter at Rolling Stone, none of the Trump media circus today was necessary. The whole process could have been handled in off hours without all the drama. A law enforcement official tells Rolling Stone that the former president was offered a chance to surrender quietly and be arraigned over Zoom. Instead, Trump opted for a midday, high-profile booking at the Manhattan courthouse, the official says. “He wanted a perp walk; he wanted daylight hours,” says the law enforcement official, who’s involved in aspects of the security planning. “He wants to get out of the vehicle and walk up the stairs. This is a nightmare for Secret Service, but they can only strongly suggest — not order — that Trump enter through the secure tunnels. Trump wants to greet the crowd. This should be a surprise to no one — especially not his detail.” Secret Service had argued in favor of holding the proceedings outside of court business hours, at night with minimal cameras and less risk. But Trump, a source close to his legal team says, wants to create the type of scene that he believes will galvanize his supporters. As always Trump has no consideration for anyone but himself. Consider the consequences of his choice: - The costs of mobilizing a massive police presence. - The loss of those police from carrying out their normal duties. - The disruption to the lives of everyone who had to adjust travel and work plans because of the disruption caused by Trump’s motorcade. - The disruption inside the courthouse because of security measures that shut down normal operations. - The nightmare for the Secret Service to keep Trump safe through all this — increasing the risk to themselves because of Trump’s insistence on a spectacle. - The deliberate use of all this to aid his political campaign, including merchandising off fake mug shots. There’s probably no way Trump can be billed for any of the massive expense he’s run up. Worse, we can expect him to use the same strategy for every court appearance, every indictment. All of it will be used to bolster his fund-raising — at the public expense of supporting his deliberate insistence on a media circus. Worse, this trial alone is expected to take a year to get rolling. The media appears to be licking its chops over this prospect — a regular series of Trumpery to report on breathlessly. We can also count on the media giving lots of air time to Republicans throwing hissy fits over every development. Meanwhile Trump will continue to run for President, spreading chaos wherever he goes. Everything Trump touches dies. Is that going to include a justice system which already has serious issues? [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/4/4/2162100/-Trump-chose-today-s-spectacle-for-his-own-personal-advantage 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/