As we watch TFG experience the FO part of FAFO, he continues to flail about as if this is a regular civil lawsuit that he has bought/intimidated his way out of for decades. Whether it was just outspending defendants or literally buying off wrist slaps, he's never actually faced jail time.
The difference, of course, is that now he is definitely facing prison time (or at least some sort of enforced incarceration). That is one of the big differences between civil and criminal lawsuits. Civil suits have monetary penalties, while criminal prosecution potentially involves prison time.
As expected, TFG is doing his usual performative threats and accusations, but there's a big difference here. He has been very clearly ordered to not do exactly what he's doing, and he's doing it anyway because that's the only thing he knows how to do. His lawyers can't control him, his family may as well not exist, his CAPS LOCK key is stuck in the on position, and he's accusing and threatening everyone and anyone that dares to threaten his own sovereign existence.
The problems with this are multiple, of course, but the biggest two are that he cannot simply buy his way out of this, and perhaps worse, there are still millions of people that buy his bullshit by the bucketful. That being said, I wish these were conversations that were actually occurring in America, but are almost certainly not.
"You know, Jenny, I'm starting to think this Trump fellow may not be on the up and up. It seems he keeps asking us for money, but it's money for him to defend himself because he keeps breaking the law." "Actually, Tom, you're right. Perhaps we should investigate further before we continue following this guy. Wasn’t he some billionaire that didn’t need our money to begin with?"
*
"Bill, I heard that there are other channels besides Fox News and Newsmax. Maybe we should try watching something else for a week to gain a different perspective? It sure seems a lot of what were being told is dubious at best." "You're right, Betty. Let's just agree to watch something else for, say, a week. Maybe we'll learn what the rest of the country is acutely aware of. It would be enlightening!"
*
"I've been thinking about this, John. I've heard that the best way to make progress in the present and future is to fully understand the past. That seems contradictory to what is happening in Florida, where entire pieces of historically accurate information are being erased from school curriculum because of thin-skinned white people." "I've been thinking about that too, Sue. I think we should probably start trying to reverse such perverse decisions and step one would probably be changing the leadership."
*
"Heather, do you remember how we were promised that we would make America great again, but that turned out to be an economic disaster and accounted for 25% of the entire national deficit in just four years? And a lot of our friends died because we were told vaccines were bad? I'm starting to think maybe we are being controlled by what they call the 'deep state', when in fact the actual 'deep state' is unraveling in front of us." "Steve, I think you're right. We have unemployment under 4% now, our European allies are no longer laughing at us... It just seems like every time a Republican takes the office, the next Democrat is left with a massive mess to clean up, but they always seem to pull through. We should look into why that is."
*
"Hon, it's been 110 degrees or hotter for a month. I'm starting to think this climate change thing is real, and that we've been lied to for decades in order to protect profits for a tiny minority of people." "Sweetie, I think you're right. If there's something we can do, even a little thing, I'm sure it will help contribute to a slowing of this human-made climate mess. There has to be something better than how we've been acting since the 1970s. Something with history again, I think."
*
"Trump is a goddamn fucking loser that has done his best to tank the American experiment." "True dat."