"Because Donald Trump must always be seen as wielding absolute mastery
over his hapless, flailing opponents, he and his propagandists want you
to believe his hush-money trial in Manhattan has proven nothing but a
smashing political success for him. [snip]
"... The truth is that no one knows what will happen in this trial. It’s certainly possible Trump will get acquitted, giving him a political boost. But a conviction seems quite plausible, and it’s likely voters will punish him for it, as polls suggest they will.
"Either
way, here’s what we know right now: Trump is not wielding absolute
mastery over events. Trump’s own lawyers are not treating his trial as
fundamentally illegitimate. Voters outside the MAGA information universe
regard the charges against him as serious, and they see the other prosecutions against him in a similarly grave light.
A whole lot of people will likely see Trump’s sneering dismissal of
these proceedings—the dozing off, the attacks on jurors, the rage fits
against the supposed unfairness of it all—as whiny entitlement, as
contempt for the very notion that he should ever be held accountable for
anything..." -- Greg Sargent in The New Republic on how the hush money for porn stars/ election interference/ fraud trial is wrecking a MAGA fantasy of the Malignant Loser/ Don Snoreleone/ The Godfarter as the absolute master of people and events around him. The pea- brain buffoon's narcissism is once again working against him, this time in a forum where there are consequences for his behavior, both legally and politically.
