This practically writes itself given that our readers already know the caliber of attorney Donald Trump is able to attract these days, but that doesn’t make it any less absurd.
The circus continues as Donald Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba told Newsmax that New York Attorney General Letitia James isn’t very bright, a claim she based on having “seen their case.”
This judge already found Donald Trump and his adult sons liable for fraud. The judge is deciding how much restitution is due and contemplating even taking away his New York business license.
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Donald’s attorney, Alina Habba, went after New York Attorney General Letitia James yesterday saying she’s “just not that bright.â€
Habba, in a Newsmax interview on Monday, said “She’s just not that bright. I’m sorry, I have to say it. I’ve seen their case, I’ve seen their… pic.twitter.com/EjMay4JB8C
— Mary L Trump (@MaryLTrump) November 7, 2023
It should be noted that Habba filed a lawsuit against Mary Trump that a judge dismissed, saying it “fail(ed) as a matter of constitutional law.” She is, perhaps, not that bright as a lawyer.
But the point of her show on Newsmax is to provide Trump’s supporters with their necessary doses of cope with all of the humiliation and embarrassment facing the former president on a daily basis. So Habba doesn’t need to make sense, she doesn’t need to be right, she doesn’t even need to have a point.
She does, however, win bonus points among Trump’s crowd for attacking a Black woman. So that is all they need. Done and dusted.
Back here in reality land, though, it’s looking much different.
Yesterday, the Judge threatened to cut Trump’s testimony short after he behaved like a deranged toddler on a sugar high trying to grab more candy at the checkout counter.
Judge Arthur Engoron “is weighing whether to impose hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and other penalties that could hobble the real estate empire that vaulted Trump to prominence,” as Reuters put it. So, kind of a lot on the line here.
Trump behaved so badly as he careened between bragging about himself and playing the persecuted victim that the judge demanded of one of his lawyers, “Can you control your client? This is not a political rally. This is a courtroom.”
Trump treated the courtroom like he has treated his entire life: a stage for him to whine and cry and threaten and demand. A place to air out his Id.
Bloomberg reported:
Trump ignored the instructions. The mood in the room grew tense, and the attorney general’s lawyer, Kevin Wallace, grew visibly frustrated. Engoron at one point suggested Kise take some time to speak with his client privately about how to conduct himself on the stand. The lawyer balked.
“The former and soon-to-be chief executive of the United States understands the rules,†Kise insisted.
“But he doesn’t abide by them,†the judge shot back.
Then there was the moment when Trump tried to deflect a question by saying he had been too busy as president to know the answer. The only problem? He had already lost the 2020 election and in 2021, was only president for 20 days, plus a failed insurrection.
Asked about whether he was involved in the 2021 valuations of his properties, Trump defended himself by telling prosecutor Kevin Wallace, “I was so busy in the White House. My threshold was China, Russia, and keeping our country safe.”
Wallace followed up by asking, “Just to clarify, you weren’t president in 2021, correct?” to which Trump replied, “No, I wasn’t.”
Judge Engoron also told Habba, “I’m not here to hear what he has to say. I’m here to hear him answer questions.” When Habba challenged him, he told her to, “Sit down already.”
So that is what really happened yesterday.
It won’t surprise you that Alina Habba has been accused in a lawsuit of calling an associate a “Black b*tch” – a phrase she reportedly repeated about Letitia James, and it also won’t surprise you to hear that she has been accused of using the N word.
Having established all of that, it won’t surprise you that the media is saying how GREAT this is for Trump’s campaign. The Clickbait King is coming back to them! They are overjoyed.
But they are also making an odd calculation. While Trump playing the persecuted for his base does amp them up, it is also a fact that he has lost visible support here in Trump country in the last 6 months. People who had their Trump 2016 and Trump 2020 signs up for years have quietly taken them down. Not all, of course. Trump supporters roll their eyes and chuckle when asked about him now. Will they turn out to vote for him? Most likely.
But then, Trump already lost 2020. What Trump most needs is to GAIN new supporters and for his existing supporters to have more enthusiasm than they did in 2020 or for Democrats not to show up like they did in 2020.
Being exposed as a fraud and being humiliated while whining and crying in public is not actually helping Trump win new support. But it is a great preview of what to expect if everyone stays home in 2024 after becoming complacent due to four years of a competent president.
Look, you can have this raging toddler in charge of the nukes as WWIII threatens!
Listen to Sarah on the PoliticusUSA Pod on The Daily newsletter podcast here.
Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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