Trump's Old Tricks Are Failing

The spectacle that Trump tried to stage in Manhattan was representative of how this isn't 2016 anymore.

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Trump Went To Manhattan To Get Publicity

One of the biggest problems that Trump has had during his 2024 presidential campaign is an inability to generate mainstream publicity. The only times that Trump has been able to dominate the news cycle have been when he is getting arrested.

Trump literally has to get arrested to get attention outside of the right-wing media bubble.

The Trump campaign has made no secret of its strategy to use the arrests and trials as campaign events.

When Trump rolled into Manhattan for a civil fraud trial that he was not required to attend, everybody knew what the game was.

Donald Trump doesn’t do subtle, so when he addressed the cameras before the start of the trial it was expected.

As Trump grew more enraged during opening statements, he ran out to vent at reporters and attack the judge, the court clerk, and prosecutors THREE MORE TIMES.

Donald Trump ran to the cameras four times in a single day, but a funny thing happened.

The legacy media didn’t take the bait.

When Trump first spoke to the cameras, he talked for seven minutes. CNN and MSNBC gave him about a minute of live airtime.

Newsmax and Fox News breathlessly covered every word, but the rest of the news networks didn’t.

Trump’s bid to use the trial as a platform deflated, and we’ll talk about why below.