'We couldn't script this any better': Trump campaign celebrates gag order as a win

Donald Trump's camp is celebrating the gag order issued against him in the Washington D.C. election interference case – and is even considering finding surrogates to continue his online attacks if it does effectively shut him up, according to a report.

The former president was hit by the order in his federal Jan. 6 case by Judge Tanya S. Chutkan – though he was given a temporary reprieve Friday as the judge considers a challenge to it made by his team.

But The Washington Post points out that, while Trump publicly railed against the gag order, his campaign welcomed it.

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“Anything that turns up the temperature and becomes controversial is where the online fundraising comes from,” said Brad Parscale, a former Trump campaign manager. “It’s a lot easier to catch fish in a hot lake than a cold lake. All these stories heat up the lake.”

“We couldn’t script this any better from a political standpoint,” one adviser said. “He does best as the victim who is being treated unfairly.”

If the gag order is reimposed, people close to Trump expect him to violate it at some point and they don't expect him to face any serious consequences for it – they actually think it will improve his political standing.

And some wonder if his super PAC or other surrogates will step up to do the bomb-throwing if the gag order is reimposed.

"But Chutkan’s order is narrow," The Post's report stated. "She specified that it does not prevent Trump from calling his prosecution political or from criticizing President Biden or the Justice Department, leaving Trump room to run in his daily and campaign trail rhetoric."

Smith's team has been closely monitoring Trump's words since they could potentially taint jurors or witnesses. "Chutkan has ordered Smith’s team to answer Trump’s challenge to the gag order by Wednesday. Trump’s lawyers then have until Saturday to respond," the Post reported.

A separate gag order has also been issued by the judge in Trump's New York fraud case.