'Doesn't seem like a good strategy': Conservative slams Team Trump for heckling the judge
January 18, 2024
Conservative columnist Charlie Sykes isn't a lawyer, he told MSNBC on Thursday, but even he can see that the Donald Trump strategy in court isn't working. While Trump wasn't on hand in the E. Jean Carroll damages trial on Thursday, his presence was, according to legal analyst Lisa Rubin.
The witnesses dealt with Carroll's reputation Thursday and whether she was significantly harmed by Trump's attacks.
MSNBC host Alicia Menendez began the second hour of "Deadline White House" by asking Sykes about the political strategy of courtroom drama. On Wednesday, there was a debate about whether Trump's throwing a fit was to intentionally antagonize the judge. At one point, Judge Lewis Kaplan called Trump out on it.
"He's not only not deterred, he's continuing to defame her in view of the jury," said Sykes. "In answer to your question, there's not enough money that's going to compensate her. Ten million dollars is not going to restore her reputation; $150 million was awarded to Shaye Moss. Dominion Voting Systems got $787 million from Fox News in this defamation defamation. No amount of money is going to deter Donald Trump from continuing to lie."
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Sykes explained it's the reason that Trump is sitting in the courtroom.
"He's showing absolute contempt, not just for the judge and the prosecution, he's showing contempt for the woman that he actually raped," Sykes said. "This is extraordinary. Donald Trump has a lizard P.R. instinct to distract attention from bad stories. Yet what he's doing is shining a spotlight on this particular trial. I'm not a lawyer, but heckling a rape victim — or heckling the judge — doesn't seem like a great legal strategy or a good political strategy for swing voters."
He speculated that it might bring his base to be more dedicated or give more money, but it won't win him the race.
"This is an extraordinary moment that Donald Trump has internalized this idea that it's 'locker room talk' or he can shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and there are no consequences," explained Sykes. "There he is in the courtroom acting out. Attacking this woman in full view of the jury and the country, and I'm a little skeptical about the political genius he's displaying here."
See the full conversation in the video below or at the link.