Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial has started and already jury selection has been a bit of a circus. A fun part of this has been Trump having to face how people really view him. This man loves to shield himself from bad press. He lives in a fantasy world where everyone loves him. But for this trial, that is not possible.
Social media accounts of prospective jurors were brought up during voir dire—when potential jurors are asked about their ability to be objective in a case. The defense attorneys did not want anyone who had posted negatively about Trump to have a seat at the table. To prove some of these prospective jurors weren’t fit to serve, the lawyers brought up specific not-so-nice memes that had been shared online.
I am sure this made Trump’s blood boil! For logistic reasons and protocol, things are entered into the official record in trials. So these memes were presented in front of the judge and Trump had to just sit there and see all of it. One post criticized Trump’s disgusting travel ban with the words “lock him up.” That person was let go of course.
There was also a post showing side-by-side photos of Trump and former President Barack Obama with the caption “I don’t think this is what they meant by orange is the new black.” Now, I remember seeing quite a lot of these posts a few years ago. I have complicated feelings about them as a whole, as the jokes about race make me uncomfortable, especially as most of these sorts of posts tend to be shared by people who are not Black. Regardless, this meme clearly isn’t pushing a pro-Trump sentiment.
Facing the music has never been an easy thing for Trump, and at one point he made an actual noise in the direction of one of the jurors. The judge had to reprimand him in the courtroom. This is someone so insecure and seemingly out of control of his own emotions that he can’t even contain himself during a trial, because someone posted a bad thing about him and hurt his feelings. Someone in the position of being President of the United States of America will handle crises that far and away are more severe than a petty meme. His supporters continuously need to be held accountable for wanting the country’s reigns to be in the hands of an overgrown man-child.
Trump’s behavior continues to show that he is too unhinged to be President. He should have never have had that job in the first place and most certainly should not have another term. After court let out, he wildly went to a bodega to discuss crime, declaring workers should be able to arm themselves. He also once again baselessly called the trial “rigged,” which is far from the truth.
The jury selection process is still ongoing before the arguments actually start. It is for sure going to continue to be a circus.
(featured image: Brendan McDermid-Pool/Getty Images)
