Hush money trial against Donald Trump: In the courtroom with a reporter
Editor’s note: The parliamentary elections will continue until the final results arrive Deadline ElectionLine Podcast examines the 2024 election campaign and the blurred lines between politics and entertainment in modern America. Hosted by Deadline Political Editor Ted Johnson and Editor-in-Chief Dominic Patten, the podcast features commentary and interviews with leading lawmakers and entertainment figures. At the same time, you can follow all the latest news about the Biden-Trump rematch and more on the website Election line Hub on deadline.
“Have you no sense of decency, sir?” U.S. Army senior adviser Joseph N. Welch asked famed Senator Joe McCarthy in 1954, as anti-Communist fever continued to grip the nation. “Have you finally left no sense of decency?” added the lawyer, shaming the opportunistic politician and turning the tide of the Second Red Scare.
In an America that watches one historical norm after another collapse Donald TrumpWith the ongoing hush money trial and the increasing degradation of political dialogue, Welch’s harsh words are perhaps needed more than ever – as you can hear in the Deadline ElectionLine podcast above.
“It was interesting to hear Judge Merchan tell the prosecution, ‘I understand that your client is a little difficult to control,'” Sean Piccoli says of some of the fallout Stormy Daniels‘ Testimony this week at the Trump trial. “No matter how much prep work you’ve done beforehand, she’ll, as you say, play by her own rules, and her brain seemed to be on fire as she spoke.”
With a unique perspective on one of the biggest stories of the moment, Piccoli is a guest on the podcast this week, straight from Manhattan Criminal Court, where he has been covering the former president’s trial for Deadline since it began April 15. Since even still photographs are no longer allowed in the courtroom, Piccili has an up-close look at the making of American history.
Also, Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power‘S Nazanin Boniadi talk to us about it the global battle they and others are waging against Iran’s promisee to execute rappers Toomaj Salehi and to imprison other artists who have protested against the Islamic Republic regime.
“I think it is the duty of the artistic community worldwide to stand with our colleagues in Iran who are being persecuted, sentenced to death, long prison sentences, whippings, whippings, beatings and torture simply for using their artistic platform “, says the long-time activist and The homeland Alum says.
Then there is Congressman Mike Collins.
Just hours after it was announced this week that Robert Kennedy Jr. The Georgia Republican, who suffered from a parasite that ate part of his brain more than a decade ago, decided that a good way to get attention would be to do more than make fun of the independent presidential candidate’s health problems but also about the public assassination of his uncle, President John F. Kennedy in Dallas in 1963.
Regardless of what you think about JFK, RFK Jr., or any member of the Kennedy family, just because Collins believes in PT Barnum’s adage that there is no such thing as bad publicity doesn’t change the fact that that his comments are like that are disgusting.
Like anyone who has ever attended a performance of Hamilton I can tell you that men and women in public life in America have been attacking each other, literally and figuratively, since before the Declaration of Independence was written. This is nothing new from 1776 to the bitter divisions of the Civil War. But without trying to project the egotism of the era, from Trump to Majorie Taylor Greene to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol to Mike Collins, it certainly feels like there is a coarsening of our culture.
Collins’ post is a sure sign of this coarsening.
But while the cruel comments sparked some outrage, by the end of the day they were largely forgotten. Add to that, as we discuss on the podcast Friday, the fact that no major member of the GOP has called Collins out on his grudges, and you have the sorry state of debate in this country today.
But with shame no longer playing a role in public life, Collins’ tweet suggests a new state of meanness in which rudeness is confused with harshness and in which any resistance is met with the complaint that free speech is under attack and with Suggesting that this is the case is seen as a sign of weakness. The goal is attention – the more outrage the better and no depth is too low.
Nearly a generation ago, incumbent Republican Sen. George Allen referred to a Democratic activist in the crowd as “Macaca,” a reference to his race. Allen apologized but lost his re-election race.
In contrast, such comments are virtually overlooked today. While the rise of Trump is not the only reason for such degradation of the community, it has exacerbated and largely normalized the problem. For example, Trump repeatedly referred to his former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chow as “Coco Chow.” Although the comments were met with some resistance, it did not cost the one-time Republican nominee the important support of Chow’s husband, current Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Collins’ attack on the Kennedys is another indication of where the discourse has come in this country – or, as Joseph N. Welch said 70 years ago, “Have you no sense of decency, sir?”
Stay with ElectionLine through Election Day: Subscribe to the Deadline ElectionLine podcast on Spotify, Apple Music, iHeart and all podcast platforms
