On Friday, legal expert and MSNBC host Katie Phang argued that former President Donald Trump’s first criminal prosecution will commence in a matter of days, thereby creating a “truly level playing field.”
On Monday, April 15, the initial criminal case among the four presently lodged charges against Trump is scheduled to proceed to trial in New York City.
The case has charged Trump with unlawfully falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign, in exchange for her silence regarding an alleged affair the two had in 2006. The investigation was led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Trump has denied the existence of the affair with Daniels and pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him. In recent days, the former president and his legal team have also been ineffectual in their numerous last-ditch attempts to postpone the trial’s commencement.
Phang explained on The ReidOut, an MSNBC program co-hosted by Joy Reid, on Friday why the commencement of the trial on Monday will render Trump comparable to any other citizen undergoing a criminal trial.
“He doesn’t get the benefit of [the title] ‘President Trump,'” Phang indicated. “It is worth noting that his attorneys persistently used the appellation ‘President Trump’ in legal documents and when discussing him in court, which is rather irritating. “However, the true leveling of the playing field occurs when he is referred to as ‘criminal defendant Donald Trump’ at council’s table—not by choice, but by law and required procedure—and accountability comes knocking and hard.”
Additionally, Phang stated that once the trial begins, Trump’s behavior will be dictated by Judge Juan Merchan, who will be responsible for preventing him from “acting out” and compelling him to sit “humbly and quietly while the judicial system does its work.”
Saturday afternoon, Newsweek attempted to contact Trump’s office via email for comment.
The presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, has experienced a gradual shift in polling favorability toward his presumed general election opponent, President Joe Biden, in recent weeks. This shift can be partially attributed to the growing scrutiny and prominence of his criminal cases. Previous surveys indicated that a minimum of one conviction on any of the nearly 90 criminal charges against him would probably cause a significant number of electors in swing states to abandon him.
55% of potential voters, according to a February Reuters/Ipsos survey, would not support Trump in the general election if he were to be convicted of any felony offenses to which he has pleaded not guilty in all four of his criminal trials. In contrast, 58% of respondents stated they would not vote for Trump in November if he were incarcerated.
Further analysis revealed that 51% of Republican voters said they would not support Trump if he were to be convicted of a felony, while an additional 25% were unsure. Between February 9 and 12, 1,237 adults across the United States participated in the survey, which has a margin of error of 2.91 percentage points.
