Although three of the four criminal cases against Donald Trump appear unlikely to go to trial before the 2024 presidential election in November, his hush money/falsifying business records trial is moving along rapidly just as Justice Juan Merchan hoped. The trial has already featured testimony from former National Inquirer Publisher David Pecker, former Trump White House adviser Hope Hicks and, on May 7, adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Politico offered analysis of the trial in a roundtable discussion featuring reporters Ben Feuerherd, Josh Gerstein, Kyle Cheney and Meridith McGraw. And one of the subjects that came up during the conversation was Trump's fear of incarceration, which is a possibility if jurors in Lower Manhattan find him guilty or if Merchan jails him for violating a partial gag order.
So far, Merchan has fined Trump repeatedly for gag order violations but hasn't jailed him —although he has said he is open to that possibility.
READ MORE: Political analyst reveals 'grim reality' of Hope Hicks’ testimony
Politico's Ankush Khardori noted that Trump continues to annoy Merchan, but McGraw stressed that even so, jail is something the former president deeply fears.
"At the psychological level," McGraw told his colleagues, "he does not want to go to jail. That's been a fear of his…. He does these verbal gymnastics to push him right up against the edge, and the threat of jail is potent enough of a political threat that he hangs over his supporters."
A recurring theme during the Politico conversation was that as much as Trump has aggravated Merchan, he doesn't want to aggravate him too much.
Gerstein argued, "We can all think of things he could say that would violate the gag order and land him in jail. As Kyle has been alluding to, he hasn't said those things yet. That makes me doubt that he's someone who's actually eager to spend time behind bars to become a martyr for his cause."
READ MORE: 'Bizarre timeline': Columnist laments 'political madness' of Stormy Daniels’ lurid testimony
McGraw interjected, "He's a notorious germophobe, too" — to which Cheney responded, "That's the psychological part. Exactly."
McGraw also noted Trump's reputation for being a control freak and a micromanager, pointing that jail would mean "no hair and makeup — he can't control it."
Feuerherd told his fellow Politico reporters, "You know how I know he doesn't want to go to jail? Josh is right, but a much more simple and efficient way to go to jail if he really meant it would just be to repost the Truth Social posts that got him held in contempt the first time. That'd be quick, easy and clearly in violation of the gag order, and the judge would be angry and would send him to jail."
Feuerherd continued, "Trump isn't doing that, which is why I know he doesn't actually want to go to jail, at least not now."
READ MORE: Judge Cannon 'resents' having to protect witnesses against Trump: Former prosecutor
Read the full Politico discussion at this link.
