Trump trial opening salvos

We're already learning about his character and his psychology

When a Manhattan prosecutor laid out the criminal  case against Donald Trump Monday, one thing became clear:  As Trump has complained of conspiracies by “crooked” politicians who committed fraud and tried to rig things against him he was indulging in what psychologists call “projection.”  Understanding this is easy. Just recall the schoolyard taunt – “I know you are but what am I” and you get the idea.

We have heard a lot about projection during Trump’s political career as journalists, commentators, and yes, mental health experts, have tried to explain his rhetorical flights from reality. In the courtroom, it became clear that Trump was familiar with the labels he had pasted on others because he was, himself, a crooked character who conspired to interfere with the 2016 election and committed fraud as he did it.

Trump’s conspiracy involved himself, his attorney/fixer Michael Cohen, and the former publisher of the National Enquirer David Pecker, a slimy supermarket tabloid. With Trump’s knowledge, these three hatched and carried out a plan to pay porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 for her pre-election silence about a sexual affair she had with Trump.  

The payoff was made at the time of the Access Hollywood videotape scandal in which Trump was revealed to have bragged about sexually assaulting women because “when you’re a star they let you do it.”  The Daniels problem arose as the videotape was made public and Trump’s campaign could have been defeated by the revelation of the affair.  

  https://www.vox.com/2016/10/7/13206364/vox-sentences-trump-sexual-assault

In addition to Trump and Cohen the third party in the cover-up action was Pecker who agreed to arrange for the purchase of exclusive rights to Daniels’ story and then never publish it. The money for the cover-up ultimately came from Trump, who reimbursed Cohen for fronting the payment.  The 34 charges against Trump relate to the falsification of documents to cover up the scheme to save the Trump campaign. As prosecutor Matthew Colangelo put it, “It was election fraud, pure and simple.”

Let’s recap. Presidential candidate Trump engaged in a crooked conspiracy to rig the voters’ access to vital information about his character. This was the scheme outlined in simple terms before Trump’s main lawyer rose to defend him. Here the jury heard the kinds of things you might hear at a mob trial. Cohen is himself a criminal. Daniels is an opportunist who made money off her notoriety. Trump’s wrongdoing amounted to mere “business records violations.”

In denying the seriousness of the crimes and attacking Cohen and Daniels, Trump’s lawyer reminds of his client’s values and his character. Trump was recently convicted of business fraud and fined roughly $500 million. (He’s appealing.) Now his own attorney seems to be copping to more fraud. As for Cohen, you have to ask --  Who needs an employee called a ‘fixer’ in the first place? And though Daniels has sought to profit from her sexual liaison with Trump, he was the one who betrayed his wife.

For years Trump has called other people all kinds of nasty names, labeled them criminals, and impugned their character.  One day into the trial it’s obvious that he has been speaking from experience. He’s the one with the shady past, who hangs out with shady characters and then commits crimes to cover his tracks.

Talk about projection.