Former President Donald Trump is expected to appear in court for the third week of testimony that centers on hush money paid to an adult film star to keep her quiet about an adulterous affair.
And with the exception of son Eric Trump last week, Trump's family has mostly stayed away from the trial all together despite the fact that his family is being invoked in his defense.
Central to the embattled president's defense is both his refusal to acknowledge he was stepping out on his wife Melania, along with a suggestion he shelled out the money to spare her feelings instead of doing so to save his 2016 presidential campaign from scandal.
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With the president facing 34 felony counts in Judge Juan Merchan's courtroom, any one of which could lead to prison time if he is found guilty, it has not gone unnoticed that the ex-president's third wife, as well as son Donald Jr. and daughter Ivanka, have stayed far away.
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According to two of Trump's biographers, David Cay Johnston and Tim O'Brien, the former president only puts his family in play when he absolutely needs them, such as asking for a day off from court to attend son Barron's high school graduation.
Inan interview with Politico, Johnston explained, "With Donald, everything is transactional, including his family relationships. Lots of people have had their spouses who know they’re going to be humiliated show up in court. But not Donald.”
Former Melania Trump press secretary Stephanie Grisham pointed out that Eric Trump's one-day cameo appearance was more than calculated, saying in an interview: "If there’s anything that the whole Trump family understands, it’s optics. And the moment people started to notice no family around, Eric showed up to the last court date. It’s all for show.”
Biographer O'Brien agreed and got right to the point by stating, "Donald Trump is a performance artist, and he wants people watching this trial to believe he’s a dedicated family man and father, even though his own personal history, and the facts that are in play in this case, undermine both of those claims."
He then added, "So it’s cartoonish of him to talk about family and his inability to go to his son’s graduation or celebrate his wife’s birthday with his wife when he was very willing in the past to visit indignities upon them.”
With the Politico report stating, "It’s unclear whether other members of Trump’s family will make an appearance as he presses on through the rest of the trial. Trump, though, seems to be keenly aware of how crucial his family — and being seen with them — are at this legally perilous moment," biographer and investigative journalist Johnston added that "Hhe uses his family as props when he thinks it’s helpful.”
