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Dozing At Trial, Trump Again Draws Widespread Mockery

@crgibs
Dozing At Trial, Trump Again Draws Widespread Mockery

Former President Donald Trump, evidently asleep during New York court proceedings on April 30, 2024

Image by Jane Rosenberg/REUTERS

During part five of former President Donald Trump's ongoing criminal trial, the 45th president of the United States appeared to once again nod off during witness testimony, as he reportedly did multiple times last week.

MSNBC producer Kyle Griffin tweeted that Trump was having trouble staying awake during court proceedings, writing that he "appears to have fallen asleep while listening to testimony — at times appearing to stir and then falling back to sleep."

"Trump's eyes were closed for extended periods and his head has at times jerked in a way consistent with sleeping," he tweeted.

MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin corroborated the network's reporting on Trump "sleeping" in court, confirming that the former president was indeed "sleeping through a lot of" the trial.

"They tried a number of different devices to keep Trump awake, partially in response, or what appears to be in response to collective press corps observations," Rubin said. "When there are sidebars, an attorney doesn't leave his side anymore, because leaving him alone means leaving him to potentially sleep. He has a stack of papers with him at all times now to go through. But neither of those things seem to have protected Trump from his own exhaustion today," she added. "More than not, when I looked up to see how Trump was receiving the testimony, Trump was not receiving it all, because his eyes were closed."

The report of Trump supposedly dozing off drew a flurry of reactions on social media, with users on X (formerly Twitter) ridiculing the ex-president over his apparent inability to remain conscious during the proceedings that will determine his freedom.

Video journalist Aaron Rupar quote-tweeted Griffin's post and inferred that the response from media outlets would likely be an uproar "if Joe Biden did this."

Liberal YouTube commentator Brian Tyler Cohen opined that Mike Lindell — the MyPillow CEO who remains one of the most outspoken 2020 election deniers — "has the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever." Attorney Bradley Moss piled on, asking his followers "can someone please get the old man a pillow or something?" Progressive pundit Mueller She Wrote offered a nickname for the former president fashioned after Marlon Brando's iconic mobster character: "#DonSnorleone."

"Such low energy," tweeted Bloomberg TV contributor Daniel Micovic in response to Griffin's original tweet.

Online Democratic fundraising platform Actblue even joined in on the fun with a campaign finance-related tweet, posting "Wondering if his fundraising numbers are keeping [Trump] up at night."

Progressive social media influencer Chris Mowrey simply responded with quotes from Trump himself. One quote he posted was "We cannot have a low-energy individual as our president." Another read, "He’s always tired, he’s always got the lids heavy."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Donald Trump

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No Sign That Trump's Legal Troubles Are Boosting His Campaign

@MJBoddie
No Sign That Trump's Legal Troubles Are Boosting His Campaign

Former President Donald Trump in New York State Supreme Court on April 22, 2024

Photo by Eduardo Munoz/REUTERS

Former President Donald Trump and his allies often make their belief that the legal troubles he faces are all politically motivated.

In February, CBS News reported, "Polls show his supporters agree, with 66 percent of Republicans believing the legal cases against him have been handled unfairly. In contrast, 70 percent of Democrats feel Trump is being treated fairly."

In a Sunday, April 28 analysis, CNN senior political data reporter Harry Enten insists that based on current polling, the ex-president's legal issues aren't serving him well at all.

"Trump’s success might make you believe that he has turned the conventional wisdom on its head – that somehow, his legal troubles are helping him politically," Enten writes.

"And while that may have been true in the primary, the general election is a different ballgame," he continues, "There isn’t much of a sign that Trump’s legal woes are helping him among the wider electorate, even if they aren’t hurting him necessarily."

Enten reports President Joe "Biden has, if anything, been the one who has picked up ground over the last few months, as both men have clinched their respective parties’ nominations." The CNN reporter notes the president "was behind by about two points on average during the height of the Republican primary a few months ago."

Enten reports:

Take, for example, the New York hush money case. It’s clear from the data that most Americans don’t think Trump did something illegal. Just 33% of Americans do, according to the latest CNN/SSRS poll. Likewise, most Americans don’t think that if the charges were true that they would be disqualifying for the presidency.

In addition to that 33% who think Trump did something illegal, there’s another 33% who think he did something unethical, but not illegal, as it relates to his actions in the New York case. That’s two-thirds of the public who believe he did something wrong.

He emphasizes, "In fact, the people who are paying closer attention to Trump’s criminal cases are more likely to favor Biden than those who aren’t, according to polling from the Times."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Donald Trump