The jury selection phase of Donald Trump’s historic criminal trial is moving toward a conclusion, after many ups and downs. Because criminal defendants are required to be present in the courtroom, the famously thin-skinned Trump has been subjected to a wide variety of people’s opinions of him—forcing him outside the bubble of bootlickers that normally insulates him from reality.
Daily Beast reporter Jose Pagliery noted on social media site X that during juror questioning Thursday, Trump was “forced to sit down & hear several say they don't like his character. Slumped back in his chair, arms folded, big frown, furrowed brow. Angry as people trash him.”
It’s impossible to know how much this is bothering Trump, but the fragility of his ego is legendary.
This is the same petulant former president of the United States who angrily attacked late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel Wednesday morning for making fun of his various legal and financial issues.
This is the same Donald Trump who attacked 16-year-old environmental activist Greta Thunberg in 2019 when she was named Time magazine’s “Person of The Year,” saying she was “angry.” It seems he was one part ornery that a young woman (who had been critical of his environmental policies) received any public adulation, and a second part furious that he had not received the magazine’s annual award.
That same year, Trump’s White House tried to get Twitter (since renamed “X” under new owner Elon Musk) to remove a tweet by celebrity Chrissy Teigen because she had insulted him on the social media site, calling him “a pussy ass bitch.”
If there is any doubt that Trump’s paper-thin self-esteem needs a planet-sized amount of insulation, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman reports that former OAN host Natalie Harp, whose fawning coverage of Trump earned her a job with his campaign, now provides Trump with moment-to-moment sycophancy:
Among the Trump aides in the courtroom is Natalie Harp, his ever-present favorite who uses a wireless printer to provide him with an ongoing stream of good news from the internet. She was initially sitting two rows behind the defense table, as she usually does. A security official in court just made her head to the back to sit in the same row as Trump’s other aides.
As of the writing of this story, 12 jurors have reportedly been selected for Trump’s felony criminal trial related to the hush money payments he made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Six alternates are still needed, which is bad news for Trump’s eggshell ego.
Zachary Mueller is the senior research director for America’s Voice and America’s Voice Education Fund. He brings his expertise on immigration politics to talk about how much money the GOP is using to promote its racist immigration campaigns.
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