Voters may grow tired of Trump’s trials
“The Trump Trials,” a multi-act drama of intrigue, deception, ego and struggle for power, is scheduled to debut off-Broadway in March, launching what will likely be a longer run than “Phantom of the Opera” had.
It will go on the road during 2024 with engagements in Washington, D.C., Florida and Georgia, where it will play to packed audiences in courthouse venues.
Its lead actor, former President Donald Trump, will head a cast of dozens of household names from the political, legal and academic worlds as federal and state government prosecutors strive to win guilty verdicts on a staggering array of charges arising from Trump’s actions in the aftermath of his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden.
With Trump enjoying a commanding lead in the contest for the Republican presidential nomination, the impending trials create an unprecedented and surreal circumstance for prosecutors — placing on trial a candidate for president and potentially a president-elect.
The nation has never been here before, never witnessed a potential chief executive seated at the defense table surrounded by attorneys or possibly in the witness chair himself.
It must be asked, though, whether the patience of the American people will grow thin and their interest will dissipate over courtroom dramas playing out in the midst of the most significant exercise of national participatory democracy: the popular selection of a president.
That the wheels of justice will grind slowly on for years is certain as Trump confronts two federal indictments, one in New York and one in Georgia.
The New York charge of business fraud for allegedly disguising hush money payments as legal expenses to conceal an extramarital affair is by far the least consequential, dismissed by some as the equivalent of overdue library books. Given that the $130,000 allegedly went to buy the silence of an adult film actress, the potential for salacious testimony, though, holds some appeal.
Far more serious are the federal indictments charging Trump with illegally retaining classified government documents and obstructing efforts to retrieve them from his Florida home and the allegations that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election by spreading claims he knew to be false.
The indictment in Georgia is based on Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn its election outcome and declare him the victor.
The sheer volume of motions, hearings, arguments and appeals — many of which will be disputes over arcane points of law — could well create a boredom that will test the theory that the only thing shorter than the public’s memory is the public’s attention span, particularly with the distraction of a presidential campaign.
Trump’s legal team will use time to its advantage, convinced their client will benefit from a trial and the carnival-like atmosphere it will produce — pro- and anti-Trump protesters crowding streets surrounding the courthouses, for instance, along with an intense media presence scrambling to capture every move and moment.
About all that will be missing is a celebrity path red carpet lined with paparazzi.
It is the arena in which Trump excels, as the center of attention, and a forum for him to proclaim his innocence and berate — largely without rebuttal — the government prosecutors and witnesses against him.
It is a given that the process will drag on for years and — in the event of convictions — eventually reach the Supreme Court.
While guilty verdicts are certainly a possibility, it will likely be years before final adjudication, by which Trump will have reached his early 80s.
The odds of any judge imposing jail time on an 80-plus-year-old man are exceedingly slim. Rather, significant monetary penalties along with non-incarceration punishments are likely upon conviction.
At the same time, acquittals will deal incalculable damage to the Department of Justice, validating accusations by Trump and his supporters of a government witch hunt and abuse of power to destroy a political opponent.
No matter the outcome, it will accomplish little to heal the deep divisions and polarization gripping the country. A finding of guilty or innocent will not sway either faction.
Public interest is certain to diminish over the many months of trials and years of appeals, and once the presidential election concludes it will fade even further. Media coverage will become more selective rather than around the clock as the initial drama inevitably drains from the legal proceedings and other issues of concern muscle their way onto the front pages.
There will be bursts of extensive coverage driven by explosive testimony, for example, and certainly by jury deliberations. Efforts to sustain a high public interest level from day to day, though, will prove unsuccessful.
It is, however, intriguing to envision a scenario in which Trump is the Republican nominee and — despite the odds — defeats Biden in November, leaving prosecutors in an uncharted no man’s land in search of their next step.
Do they continue the process of pursuing a sitting and duly elected president or simply withdraw the cases, believing that the occupant of the office is immune from criminal prosecution?
In seven months, the curtain will go up on opening night of “The Trump Trials.” Long lines at the box office are anticipated, and curtain calls are certain.
Look out, “Phantom.”