OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
MSNBC host Rachel Maddow was beside herself after former President Donald Trump got his first victory in a Manhattan Court.
The president is not set to be arraigned until 2:15 PM on Tuesday but on Monday night the judge in the case, Judge Juan Merchan, made a decision to only allow a limited number of photographers into the courtroom and no video.
Moreover, the photographers have to stop taking photos before the court proceedings begin.
He ruled late on Monday night that he will allow five pool photographers to snap for several minutes before the arraignment formally starts on Tuesday around 2:15 p.m. Eastern Time. However, the judge declared that no cameras will be allowed in the courtroom.
“That this indictment involves a matter of monumental significance cannot possibly be disputed. Never in the history of the United States has a sitting or past President been indicted on criminal charges,” Merchan said.
The judge said he “needed to balance other interests” and that no electronic devices will be allowed in either the main or overflow courtrooms.
🚨Breaking: Judge orders no cameras in court during Trump arraignment. pic.twitter.com/k01l45fsiY
— Real Mac Report (@RealMacReport) April 4, 2023
Trump’s 2024 campaign raised a whopping $7 million in the days after a Manhattan grand jury indicted him.
“Senior Trump aide Jason Miller announced the haul as the ex-president was en route to New York City ahead of his expected arrest and arraignment on Tuesday. Miller described the three-day sum as a ‘record’ but offered no more details,” CNBC reported. “Solicitations from the Trump campaign’s joint fundraising committee have in recent weeks repeatedly referenced the possibility of criminal charges, seeking to spur donations from the former president’s outraged supporters.”
“Numerous recent polls show Trump leading the potential Republican presidential primary field, which so far officially includes just him and a small handful of other candidates. His top potential rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, is expected to announce his presidential plans after his state’s current legislative session ends next month,” the outlet added.
The massive fundraising haul comes as Trump was indicted late last week by a Manhattan grand jury in a case involving his purported role in hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election, allegedly to keep Daniels quiet about an affair the two of them had in 2006.
The American People STAND with President Donald J. Trump!
Join the team—> https://t.co/LMxWNGGGBH https://t.co/GXrRQftCGN
— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) April 3, 2023
A veteran political analyst and pollster said on Monday night that Democrats have given Trump an “unintended political boost” with the criminal indictment and upcoming arraignment.
“There’s a nexus between Americans that are bullied by the government and an increase in popularity,” said Craig Keshishian, who worked as a White House pollster during the Reagan administration.
“We’ve seen that clearly. Quite succinctly with the [Bill] Clinton case. Clinton was really on the rocks for a good chunk of that presidency. When the Republicans started to gang up on him, it actually worked to his benefit in the end… so we’re seeing this as an exemplar of that general theory,” Keshishian added. “Americans don’t mind bullies. But they do not like to be bullied. Therein lies the difference and Trump is now the beneficiary of that.”
“The key thing here is that P.R. for Trump is like oxygen to a fire. So they may have given him the kiss of life,” Keshishian said. “We’re seeing this in polling numbers conducted by my dear colleagues… where there’s been a de facto surge in Republican respondents who now sympathize with Trump in wake of this indictment.”
“What is even more striking, and I look at those numbers as one of Reagan’s former pollsters, they’re bona fide. The numbers of respondents are high. Those are two legitimate polls,” he added. “Frankly what stunned me the most about it were Republican women who are rallying around Trump as we speak. So the Democrats better be careful. They may get something if they really wanted it bad enough. I fear for them that there could be some sort of backlash in the making here.”
