Some illiteration about the mad king
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan adjourned E. Jean Carroll’s defamation trial against Donald “91 Counts” Trump in New York City on Monday after one of the jurors became sick. Trump himself is expected to take the stand this afternoon.
The mad king was using his thumbs about it again last night. If Trump’s Truth Social account is any indication of his state of mind, hoo-boy (The New Republic):
Trump made 42 posts about Carroll (and one pushing falsehoods about the House January 6 investigative committee) on Truth Social in the span of 13 minutes. Many of his posts included photos or clips of interviews that he has previously shared about Carroll. Trump’s posting rate is so fast that the former president must have some prescheduled, some drafts saved for constant reuse, someone else posting for him, or some combination of all three.
His Truth Social account shared media interview clips and social media posts that appear to come from Carroll, all stripped of context so as to paint her as some sort of sexual deviant. He also falsely claimed that the co-founder of LinkedIn is paying Carroll’s legal fees and that presiding Judge Kaplan and Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan (no relation) are Democratic operatives.
Trump has made these claims about Carroll multiple times before. This is the third time during this trial that he has gone on such a posting spree. The first time was just before the trial began, and the second was—inexplicably—as he sat in the courtroom for the first day of the trial.
Trump must keep the undead corpse of Roy Cohn nearby and whispering bitter nothings in his ear. Perhaps it is Trump’s late mentor helping him tap out rapid-fire smears whenever Donald is feeling insecure, which is always.
From Where’s My Roy Cohn? (2019):
Cohn formulated his playbook in the 50s, but it is all too familiar today: always attack; never admit blame or apologize; use favors and fear to ensure support for your objectives; expertly manipulate the media to gain advantage and destroy your opponents; lie shamelessly, invalidating the idea of truth; weaponize lawsuits; evade taxes and bills; and, most importantly, inflame the prejudices of the crowd by scapegoating defenseless people.
Trump may be permanently aggrieved, semi-literate and under-educated (and mad, corrupt, etc.), but he learned all that from Cohn and learned it well.
Should Trump actually take the witness stand this afternoon, there’s not enough Maalox in Manhattan for Trump’s team of lawyers (NBC News):
Carroll is seeking at least $10 million in compensatory damages for “injury to her reputation, humiliation and mental anguish in her public and private life,” in addition to an unspecified amount in punitive damages to “punish Trump for acting maliciously and to deter Trump and others” from continuing to defame her. An expert who testified on Carroll’s behalf put the cost of repairing her reputation alone at $7 million to $12 million.
Carroll is expected to wrap up her case early in the day, paving the way for Trump’s defense to begin. He’s listed as one of two possible defense witnesses in the case, in which jurors will be deciding how much he should pay Carroll in damages for defaming her while he was in the White House in 2019, when he accused her of making up a sexual abuse claim against him for financial and political reasons.
Between E. Jean Carroll threatening to take him for tens of millions and Nikiki Haley, another woman (and she’s brown!) daring to taunt him on the campaign trail, Trump must be wound up tighter than usual. He’s threatening Haley’s donors now (The Hill):
“When I ran for Office and won, I noticed that the losing Candidate’s ‘Donors’ would immediately come to me, and want to ‘help out.’ This is standard in Politics, but no longer with me,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“Anybody that makes a ‘Contribution’ to Birdbrain, from this moment forth, will be permanently barred from the MAGA camp. We don’t want them, and will not accept them, because we Put America First, and ALWAYS WILL!” Trump continued, using the nickname “Birdbrain,” to refer to Haley.
Trump’s direct threat against Haley’s supporters signals a sharpening in his rhetoric, as the former president seeks to compel support from all corners of the GOP.
Donald Trump turn down money? That’ll be the day.
If Trump takes the stand today, his attorneys will wish they never got out of bed.