Former US President Donald Trump is making headlines once again, this time for the dramatic scene he created during his arrest and arraignment last week. Trump is facing 34 counts of falsifying business records, related to an alleged hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016, just before the presidential election. On April 4, he surrendered himself for arraignment in Manhattan, making him the first president in US history to face criminal charges.
During his initial public interview since being booked, Trump emphasised the theatrical aspect of the situation. Speaking with Fox host Tucker Carlson in an extended interview scheduled to be broadcast on Tuesday night, Trump portrayed the staff at the Manhattan courthouse as tearfully disbelieving. “People that worked there, professionally work there, that have no problems putting in murderers and they see everybody […] they were crying. They were actually crying. They said, ‘I’m sorry’,” he said.
According to Rolling Stone, Trump and his allies deliberately aimed to make a spectacle of his arraignment. One source even claimed that Trump desired to portray a “Jesus Christ thing” to send a message of political martyrdom to his supporters.
Since news of the indictment broke, Trump has been criticising Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Democrats, accusing them of engaging in election interference by charging him. Fox News has also supported Trump’s claims.
Interestingly, Carlson was caught texting his colleagues about his dislike for Trump, but launched a vehement defence of the former president in response to the indictment. Carlson asserted to his viewers that the prosecution of Trump is election interference because he is the frontrunner of the Republican Party.
It remains to be seen how the charges against Trump will play out, but it’s clear that the former president is doing everything he can to turn the situation to his advantage. Whether his supporters will be swayed remains to be seen.
