By now, former president Trump already has his script down.
Donald Trump: “This is an assault on our country. It is a country that’s failing. It’s a country that’s run by an incompetent man that’s very much involved in this case. This is really an attack on a political opponent, that’s all it is.”
That was the former president just before entering the courtroom. Trump and his allies are under scrutiny for their handling of funds prior to the 2016 election. This includes the hush money paid to adult entertainment star Stormy Daniels. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and again expressed his disapproval on his way out.
Trump: It’s a scam trial. If you read all of the legal pundits, all of the legal scholars today, there’s not one that I see that said this is a case should be brough or tried. It’s a scam, it’s a political witch hunt, it continues forever. And we’re not going to begin with a fair trial.”
Trump is spinning the historic nature of the case into a political persecution against him. It’s a well-tested strategy to fire up his die hard supporters. Trump wanted the court proceedings to garner attention from both media outlets and his supporters.
Protester: “Trump or death, trump or death. Give me Trump or give me death.”
But there was also a crowd gathered who wanted to see Trump brought to justice.
Protester: “Trump is not above the law, Trump is not above the law, Trump is not above the law.”
The jury selection process is likely to take over a week. Today, around 50 potential jurors were dismissed from the proceedings, saying they couldn’t be impartial. It’s unclear how long it will take for the whole trial to wrap up. But it’s certain that Trump’s legal troubles are far from over.