Trump is 'preparing the ground for a self-pardon' if reelected: Analyst

Donald Trump's actions as his financial fraud trial continues in Manhattan appear to be serving as a test-run for his future trials with the intention of creating a rationale for a self-pardon should he be returned to the Oval Office in 2024.

According to the New Yorker's John Cassidy, there are lessons to be learned from how Trump has conducted himself inside and outside Judge Arthur Engoron's courtroom where New York Attorney General Letitia James is pursuing her $250 million lawsuit.

Beyond the fact that the "incorrigible" former president is using the media attention to get himself in front of the cameras, Cassidy is suggesting that Trump is trying to set the stage for violence should he be on the losing end on this and his other upcoming trials.

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?

As he writes, Trump is showing up at a trial that he doesn't need to attend and is making inflammatory statements to the press hoping to drown out the testimony that is not going his way.

Add to that, the former president is working overtime trying to rally his MAGA base.

As Cassidy puts it, "As he confronts his accusers, Trump’s legal tactics are secondary to his political strategy of discrediting the court and the prosecution in the eyes of his supporters. Only he knows his ultimate goals. But they seem to include raising doubts in advance about any guilty verdicts and planting the idea that such verdicts would be so outrageous that they would lead to unrest and violence."

"Almost certainly, he’s also trying to prepare the ground for a self-pardon in the event of a conviction on the federal charges against him if he gets reelected," he adds.

You can read more here.