Why Trump Appeared in Court in Person

“Donald Trump’s team had debated earlier this week how they wanted to approach his arraignment, and made the decision to appear at the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C. in-person — foregoing the option to appear via Zoom — in an attempt to drum up more media attention regarding the latest charges,” CNN reports.

“The strategy is to play into their broader narrative that special counsel Jack Smith is interfering with the 2024 presidential election by taking him off the campaign trail.”

Politico: “Aides shot video footage of the arrival from the plane, while his operation blasted screen grabs of the cable news networks, all of them hyper focused on Trump’s arrival and motorcade ride through downtown D.C.”

“The portrayal they sought to convey was akin to that of a gladiator being summoned before the angry hordes in the coliseum.”