"As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly."
—Proverbs 26:11, KJV

 

(Composite / Photos: GettyImages)

As New York prepares to arraign its most prominent chronic offender, a few things to ponder:

• We’re about to be tested. Bigly.

The spectacle that is sure to unfold will mark an unprecedented moment in American history that will demonstrate once again how dramatically Trump — who already held the distinction of being the first president to be impeached twice — has upended democratic norms. But on a personal level, the indictment pierces the cloak of invincibility that seemed to follow Trump through his decades in business and in politics, as he faced allegations of fraud, collusion and sexual misconduct.

• The rules are about to change. For years Trump has insulted and slimed judges. But tomorrow, for the first time, he will face a judge presiding over his criminal trial. It’s one thing to bloviate at rallies and bleat insults on social media, a very different thing when he is a man in the dock.

• Trump may not realize that yet… He’s planning a primetime (televised?) address from Mar-a-Lago tomorrow night.

• Despite the complaints about the “weaponization” of the justice system, it’s worth remembering that the guy who will be arraigned on dozens of felony charges has been calling for criminal charges against opponents for years. A month before the 2020 election, Trump tweeted, “Where are all of the arrests?” He added: “BIDEN, OBAMA AND CROOKED HILLARY LED THIS TREASONOUS PLOT!!! BIDEN SHOULDN’T BE ALLOWED TO RUN - GOT CAUGHT!!!”

• The cycle continues: the GOP can’t quit Donald Trump, and (for the most part) the elites can’t bring themselves to say out loud what they fervently hope in private. “Many prominent Republicans want Trump gone,” writes David Frum. “But they are caught in a trap of their own bad faith: They want prosecutors to do for them the job they are too scared and broken to do for themselves.” (See Proverbs 26:11.)   [emphasis added]

• The fact that the Decency Lane is so narrow and so small says far more about the Republican base than it does about folks like Asa Hutchinson, who is waging a quixotic campaign to appeal to the party’s battered and bruised better angels.

• Polls and fundraising numbers suggest that tomorrow may be “rocket fuel” to his big push for the Republican nomination. But what is good for Trump may turn out to be toxic for the rest of the GOP.

• A new poll out this morning shows that 60 percent of Americans—including 60 percent of independent voters—say they approve of the indictment of Trump.

While views on the indictment are split along party lines, the poll finds that majorities across major demographic divides all approve of the decision to indict the former president. That includes gender (62% of women, 58% of men), racial and ethnic groups (82% of Black adults, 71% of Hispanic adults, 51% of White adults), generational lines (69% under age 35; 62% age 35-49; 53% age 50-64; 54% 65 or older) and educational levels (68% with college degrees, 56% with some college or less).

• But Republicans bought the ticket, didn’t they? They embraced a man distinguished by his penchant for criming. Amb. John Bolton notes: “I think it's important to stress that in this case that involves hush-hush money to a porn star to cover up an affair that later involves cooking his company's books, you have not heard a single Trump defender stand up and say, oh, that's not the Donald Trump I know.”

• And this is just the beginning. Next up: Georgia. And Jack Smith, who has been busy: “Justice Dept. said to have more evidence of possible Trump obstruction at Mar-a-Lago.”

• Nota bene: Republicans who embrace Trump after his first indictment are likely to do it after his second. And third. And perhaps, his fourth, because, well, you know.

• Bonus question: Has anyone asked TrumpWorld whether it was wrong for the Trump DOJ to prosecute Michael Cohen?

  
  

  Will Saletan @saletan

  As to bias, Davis says "the Southern District of New York prosecutors, in writing, stated that Donald Trump, Individual 1, directed Michael Cohen to pay the illegal hush money. They sent [Cohen] to jail." So Trump isn't being singled out by leftists. He's getting equal justice.

  1:05 AM ∙ Apr 3, 2023

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  Happy Monday.