Jury Duty

Donald Trump’s criminal trial is proceeding as expected. Including incitement against jurors and alternates from MAGA.

Donald Trump’s first criminal trial is underway. So far it’s going about how I assumed it would. As I wrote late last year, Trump will do everything in his power to turn this trial into a circus. Both because this has worked historically for authoritarians on trial and because these trials guarantee Trump the kind of wall-to-wall media coverage he desperately craves. 

OK, one thing has surprised me. Trump appears to be falling asleep in court. The media coverage of this is amusing (sleep experts!) So is Trump’s fury over getting called out. My first thought was that Trump’s campaign probably wasn’t thrilled about this since one of their arguments is that Biden is too old and weak to lead the nation, but as their candidate is on trial for crimes related to his last campaign does coverage that Trump’s falling asleep even phase his team at this point?

Otherwise, it’s business as usual. Trump is behaving like a spoiled toddler, whining on his TruthSocial account about every aspect of the proceedings. His TruthSocial account is a live feed of whining and grievances. He keeps begging supporters to come to NY and protest on his behalf but MAGA really hasn’t shown up. He keeps testing the limits of the gag order, and the prosecutors keep arguing that Trump is continually violating it. Trump’s posts, which are intended to incite MAGA, continue to put everyone in the courtroom in danger. 

Media coverage, especially on cable news, has also been predictably bad. The trial isn’t being televised, but cable news still has 24 hours to fill, and as Jon Stewart deftly pointed out this week, there’s a whole lot of filler. Including interviews with the courtroom sketch artists.

Unfortunately, cable news has been using information about jurors and potential jurors to fill the void. One juror has already been dismissed at her request because friends and family figured out that she was a juror based on the identifying details in the media coverage. Other jurors are likely as identifiable from the coverage as Dulcé Sloan brilliantly skewered on The Daily Show. Given what the media knows about Trump and MAGA’s use of targeted harassment and threats as a strategy, outlets should have known better but forged ahead anyway.

Then there’s Jesse Watters at Fox News, who has been openly attacking jurors and the selection process. Watters, a man who once stalked a Huffington Post reporter on her vacation at the behest of his then-boss Bill O’Reilly, has used his prime-time television show to attack jurors and expose personal information about them openly. Writing for Public Notice, Noah Berlatsky points out that Watters’ information came entirely from other media coverage and that even after being admonished by the Judge, some outlets continued to offer identifying information on the jurors.

I worry for the safety of everyone in the courtroom and hope that appropriate security precautions are being taken. No one should have to deal with any of this to do their civic duty, but threats and harassment are simply a part of American life now, one that our society still has an unbelievably high tolerance for. It’s also a reminder that a second Trump term would mean more incitement, more targeting of opponents, and more of the ethical and moral bankruptcy that led to these criminal charges and proceedings in the first place.

The good news is that Trump’s antics haven’t shut the trial down yet. Donald Trump is doing everything he can to make that happen but so far he’s failed. The court system might not be built for defendants like Donald Trump, but it seems to have learned some things from our history. Trump is the first former president in America’s history to be charged with crimes and put on trial for them. Right now that trial seems likely to continue until a jury reaches its verdict. 

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ICYMI

BDI Launches Public Event-Level Dataset on Threats and Harassment Against Local Officials (Bridging Divides Institute)

This is an incredibly handy dataset and analysis of just how widespread the problem of local elected officials facing threats and harassment is. The analysis is also helpful for wrapping your head around this as a systemic issue that seems to be getting worse instead of better.

Is the New TikTok Ban for Real? (Vox)

This is a helpful guide for understanding the TikTok legislation that Biden just signed and what it might or might not mean for the platform and the Americans who love it. 

Gateway Pundit to File for Bankruptcy Amid Election Conspiracy Lawsuits (Washington Post)

Nice to know that the right-wing grift doesn’t always work out in the end. I’m probably enjoying this news far more than I should.

A Conversation with Siva Vaidhyanathan About "The Anxious Generation" (The Present Age)

I’ve read but haven’t yet written about Jonathan Haidt’s book on children and social media. Mostly because I’m so conflicted. On the one hand, I have no doubt that smartphones and social media are harmful to children, and I’m thrilled to see something that might inspire collective action on this. On the other hand, I think the book blames social media at the expense of other societal problems that are surely contributing to the depression and loneliness crisis humanity seems to be facing. This interview with Siva Vaidhyanathan does a fair job of outlining some of the glaring issues while also acknowledging what Haidt does well.

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Coda

Spring is here and I don’t know about you, but I’m loving the weather. The boys are old enough to go for walks around our neighborhood and everything about the season: flowers, insects, bird nests is fascinating to them. I’ve always loved Spring but it’s magical to see it through three-year-olds’ eyes. I hope you’re having similar weather where you are and that you’re able to enjoy it as well.

That’s all for now. I’ll see you next Sunday!