'Scared' Trump has 'something deep to lose' at hush money trial: ex-president's biographer
Monday is the beginning of Donald Trump's New York trial that will decide whether he is just as guilty as Michael Cohen was in the hush money scheme involving an adult film star.
Trump, who faces 34 felony counts in the case, is accused of paying off Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election to keep her mouth shut about their purported affair. Despite three attempts this week to delay the trial, it is moving forward. All the while, a new poll shows that 64 percent of Americans see the matter as serious, Reuters reported.
MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace began the conversation with investigative reporter Susanne Craig by recounting the involvement of David Pecker from the National Enquirer. He allegedly promised to kill any negative stories about Trump and paid off Karen MacDougal, and he'll likely be among the witnesses.
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"There's a sliver of my brain that thinks some of these people are going to be witnesses in a criminal trial about Trump's payments to a porn star. The other is that it couldn't happen to a better lot," quipped Wallace.
She welcomed Trump biographer Tim O'Brien, who was once sued by Trump. His explanation for why the "band" is getting back together is that "you can never really move on from Donald Trump. I think that's the hard lesson."
He explained that this case is different from others because it has all of the "poisoned, trashy ecosystem" of tabloid scandal.
"And the people who gravitate in the direct circle, he has an eye for people who are marks for being persuaded to exist in his orbit and carry out his bidding," said O'Brien.
"And since he became president, the consequences of everything he did were larger. So, there's a long tale people looking at things and trying to hold him accountable. So, anyone who existed in the choir in the past has to sing again," he continued.
Another thing he finds different in this case is the almost panicked way in which Trump is desperately trying to stop it from moving forward.
"These repeated efforts to delay the case is — he is fundamentally scared of something here," O'Brien told the panel. "In a way, that's the bravado he used to have when he moved through the New York courts; this is a cosmic and epic New York moment. It has every seedy and interesting part of New York in full display with one of the most 'Crypt Keeper' of New York crazy, Donald Trump, being put on trial. And I think it's the least consequential, easily of the criminal trials he faces."
O'Brien went on to say that he thinks the fact that Trump can't use this case to his benefit is only now dawning on him.
"He has something deep to lose here," the biographer said. "When there are these polls saying Trump voters may not be that affected, they are not the voters that matter. What matters are moderate and independent voters who are going to be turned off by the facts that are going to be revisited in this case."
See the full discussion in the video below or at the link.
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