OOPS! Trump’s NEWEST EXCUSE for his gag order violations
Donald Trump is now claiming that his gag order violations are actually just examples of the court overstepping as he accidentally posts what he assumes are mere flattering news stories.
After testimony ended on day two of Trump’s criminal trial for falsifying business records over his hush money payments, as is his habit, he stepped out to talk to the press, waving the sheaf of papers that have become his pacifier.
They’re printouts of online news stories, apparently provided to him by an aide whose job is to soothe the former president’s ego with headlines that assure him the case is a “sham” and “should never have been brought.”
The flattery dossier itself isn’t a new development. Natalie Harp’s job is to follow Trump around with a wireless printer and feed his ego an unhealthy smorgasbord of fawning op-eds, according to Futurism.
Even in the White House, Trump started each day with a folder full of feel-good, which included not only glowing news chyrons and honeyed headlines, but sometimes “pictures of Trump on TV looking powerful,” Vice reported at the time.
This time, though, the stack of paper is serving an additional purpose, as a visual aid for scapegoating.
Trump’s attorney, Todd Blanche, spent the morning telling Judge Juan Merchan that Trump is trying not to violate the gag order and that he, in fact, has not done so. Blanche argued that it’s “common sense” that reposting someone else’s statements isn’t a violation, and that Trump’s attacks are political — and necessary because his victims attack him.
Trump himself is claiming that his violations are for unknowingly sharing articles that are much too long to ever actually read, and for not being aware that buried somewhere in them is a mere mention of a witness’ name. He said:
“Somebody writes an article, if I read every one of these articles, in complete, I read some of it, and I look at headlines all good headlines that the case is a sham, but I can’t read the whole thing. I’d be reading, this is like reading a novel. So I put an article in, and somebody’s name is somewhere deep in the article, and I end up in violation of the gag order.”
Trump complains he can’t read his printouts of articles pic.twitter.com/VB0onsYxUh
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 23, 2024
But Trump hasn’t been hit with gag order violations for merely sharing articles that have names buried deeply in them.
One of the violations Judge Merchan looked at today was Trump quoting Fox personality Jesse Watters — but as Merchan pointed out, it wasn’t an accurate quote. Trump, or someone posting on his behalf, actually editorialized and added his own words inside the quotation marks.
Another alleged violation was, in fact, Trump’s repost of a New York Post article, which named Michael Cohen a “serial perjurer,” but not only was the potentially violating portion of the article at the top, Trump quoted it in his post, belying any claim that he didn’t know it was there.
The latest alleged violation came from Trump’s own mouth, outside the courtroom on Monday. If Trump didn’t know Cohen’s name was coming out with the rest of his words, that’s an issue better suited to his doctor than a courtroom.
As far as his reposts go, though, there’s another factor that seems to contradict Trump’s claims.
His social media posts in recent months have included a lot of articles that are screenshotted, and posted with the unflattering portions cut out, according to The New Republic.
Whether it’s Trump or an employee, that’s not happening without someone reading that text.
Curses! Foiled again!
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