Can 12 Americans pop the bubble of Trump lies?
Mr. Trump’s rage is a defense to protect a crumbling delusion.
Today begins the historic first criminal trial of a former president. I am not celebrating. Donald Trump’s greed, his lust, his dishonesty, his narcissism, his rage brought us to this sad moment. A very smart friend of mine worries that trying a former president will launch us into a dangerous cycle of partisan prosecution of political leaders in the years ahead. It’s possible he’s correct. But not prosecuting Mr. Trump might launch us into a future where President’s routinely break laws for their own benefit. It is a terrible place we find ourselves, and only Mr. Trump is to blame for that.
Of course, that’s not what he thinks. Mr. Trump thinks everyone else is to blame. The Democrats. Joe Biden. The judge. The judge’s daughter. The witnesses. The jury. The system. Listen, if you can, to one of his rallies. He puts his audience through a long, pathetic and incoherent rant against the world.
Mr. Trump’s rage is a defense to protect a crumbling delusion. First, he faces a jury of his peers. His wild attacks on juries in previous trials makes it clear that he does not believe he has peers among us. We have ample evidence he sees himself in folks like Xi Jingping, Vladimir Putin, Victor Orban, and Kim Jong Un, men whose words are law, whose desires are fed, and whose rule goes unchallenged. Men like that cannot imagine their fate in the hands of “ordinary” citizens. Mr. Trump cannot imagine it, and yet here he is.
Mr. Trump now sits in a courtroom where evidence matters and lies do not go unchallenged. This, too, is a terrifying bucket of ice water suddenly dousing his fiery lies. Most people learn about criminal trials from television where all that matters is the emotional closing arguments. In the real world, trials are rarely dramatic. They can actually be quite boring. Rules of evidence and rules of procedure, developed over centuries, assure that facts matter in a trial court. The jury will not hear any of the distracting nonsense that has numbed so many American voters, and none of the passionate lies that have enthralled the MAGA base. Instead, it will see documents, ledgers, emails, and it will hear sworn testimony where witnesses are cross examined.
What could threaten Mr. Trumps delusional world view more than a place where evidence and facts matter? This is, after all, a man who built his political machine on lies. He uses those lies as loyalty tests, demanding fealty rather than fidelity. What happens to the MAGA movement if truth start to matter again?
Mr. Trump may be too far gone ever to acknowledge the facts. He may never accept responsibility for his actions or be capable of feeling remorse. That’s his business, and I couldn’t care less. But it’s possible that a trial court’s focus on establishing facts might make it harder for so many Americans to take comfort in the web of lies Mr. Trump has spun across our land. Then, maybe, we can begin to heal.