Former President Donald Trump expected huge crowds of supporters to show up in protest as he stood trial in Manhattan this week — and now he's desperate to come up with any explanation for their absence that avoids the harsh truth, wrote Amanda Marcotte for Salon.
This comes as the former president lashes out at New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman for reporting that he is disappointed with the lack of protests outside his trial, and insists that no one is there because police have cordoned off the streets around the Manhattan courthouse — a claim which has been debunked.
Another of his excuses is that Trump supporters are just too wary of setting foot in New York City due to out-of-control crime, Marcotte noted.
"It's all a lie — crime is way down from the pandemic-related spikes — but it's one Trump repeats ad nauseum. And it's constantly reinforced by Fox News, which pushes out a series of misleading stories and images meant to scare their elderly suburbanite audiences into believing that going into the nation's largest city results in instant murder.
"Nonetheless, Trump keeps pleading with his followers to run through what they've been told is a 'bloodbath' in order to, you know, persuade Bragg and presiding Judge Juan Merchan to just give up on this whole trial nonsense."
Meanwhile, there's a much simpler explanation for why Trump's crowds aren't materializing, she wrote, and it's one he doesn't want to accept — there just aren't enough people left who care about him.
"No matter what story Trump wants to tell, it's obvious what's happening: MAGA isn't there because they don't want to be," wrote Marcotte.
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"I'd wager it is mostly because, despite the horror show on January 6, 2021, it turns out that most of MAGA is not actually as gung-ho to risk injury, prison or even death just because Dear Leader commands it" — especially, she added, given that unlike on January 6, where Trump falsely promised them they could keep him in power, he simply hasn't given them a reason to show up and they don't think their presence would affect anything.
"Some polling data shows that the wind is starting to seep out of the MAGA sails, especially as their leader continues to fall apart mentally under the pressure of prosecution," Marcotte concluded. It's not necessarily the end — law enforcement should still stay vigilant over the risk of far-right domestic terrorism, she wrote.
"But if MAGA lashes out, they will not be doing it for Trump. They'll be doing it for themselves."
