A combination of anger, incredulity and boredom at having to appear in a Manhattan courtroom four days a week is creating havoc for Donald Trump's closest aides who are finding it difficult to get him to campaign or meet with wealthy campaign donors.
According to a deep dive from the Washington Post, the former president is having a hard time coping with all of the restrictions visited upon him as he attends the hush money trial where he is facing 34 felony counts — one of which could land him in prison if a jury finds him guilty.
As one Trump insider explained to the Post, "The phrase around here is ‘the process is the punishment.'”
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The report notes that the trial schedule which only leaves Wednesdays and weekends open for campaigning has sharply curtailed much-needed activities, particularly because Trump values his time on the golf course as well as the ability to come and go as he pleases.
According to the Post, "Two weeks in, the first criminal trial of a former president has been personally taxing for Trump and disruptive to his campaign. Despite efforts to scheduledinners where donors, friends and world leaders join him, Trump’s moods are worse on trial days, according to several people close to him. The former president is accustomed to near-daily rounds of golf, “constant stimulation” and cheers when he enters and exits a room at Mar-a-Lago, they said. Instead, he is now reporting four days a week for mundane court arguments and long stretches without permission to check his phone."
The report goes on to point out that the embattled ex-president's outbursts before the press as he comes and goes from Judge Juan Merchan's courtroom combined with his posts on Truth Social are not filling the gap needed by the campaign at a critical junction.
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"The trial is taking time and resources just as his campaign is rushing to build out infrastructure for the general election and close a fundraising gap with President Biden" the Post is reporting before adding, "During the Republican primary, Trump could swoop in and out of his court proceedings with more flexibility and campaign on the sidelines. Now the former president is required to attend; adding insult to injury, his first mid-trial rally was canceled last weekendbecause of bad weather."
“It’s almost like he can’t believe it,” a Trump insider admitted. “There is a sense when you talk to him, ‘Can you believe this? They indicted me.’”
You can read more here.