Trump is planning to use his criminal trial the same way Hitler did—that’s why Democrats must counter his lies!
Trump lies must be countered.
On November 8, 1923, Adolph Hitler attempted his own version of Donald Trump’s Jan 6 violent coup. In Hitler’s case, it was known as the Beer Hall Putsch as he led thousands of his angry followers in an attempt to seize power from the Weimar Republic. Like Trump’s Jan 6, Hitler’s coup failed. Hitler was swiftly arrested and charged with crimes. At the time, the press predicted that this trial would lead to Hitler’s conviction—as well as his possible execution or deportation--and the end of his Nazi party.
Instead, Hitler very effectively utilized his trial as a vehicle for his propaganda. As historian David King explained in his book “The Trial of Adolf Hitler: The Beer Hall Putsch and the Rise of Nazi Germany,” Hitler weaponized the media coverage of the trial to make himself and his views better known. He accused the German institutions of being corrupt, asserted that the Weimar Republic was founded on the “crime of high treason,” and spewed his hate filled ant-Semitic rhetoric. As King noted, “the far-right media built Hitler into a martyr and national hero from this moment on.”
Ultimately, Hitler was convicted of treason but spent less than one year behind bars, during which time he dictated Mein Kampf. Instead of ending Hitler’s political career, his trial began the path to a political resurgence that led him ten years later to be named chancellor of Germany.
The obvious lesson for Trump—who per his former chief of staff John Kelly has praised Hitler—is to use the media coverage surrounding his trials to peddle his propaganda that he believes will help him win in 2024. That is why Trump will declare daily during his criminal trial in New York scheduled to begin Monday that the entire case was orchestrated by President Biden to hurt Trump politically.
In fact, Trump began that line of attack even before he was charged with 34 felonies in early April 2023 by a Manhattan grand jury. At a March 25, 2023 rally--in response to media reports about his imminent indictment--Trump told supporters that the expected charges were all part of “the Biden regime’s weaponization of our system of justice.”
Since then, Trump has constantly repeated this lie in various forms. For example, two weeks ago, after attending a hearing in his New York criminal case, Trump held a press conference where he accused Biden of "weaponization of our government to try to knock out" his "political opponent." And on Tuesday, Trump repeated this lie with the claim that Biden has “weaponized the Justice Department,” adding for emphasis, “Every one of these trials is run by the DOJ and the White House. Every single one.”
Trump’s obvious goal with this lie is to convince voters that if he’s convicted, they should ignore it since this prosecution was nothing more than Biden weaponizing the justice system to hurt Trump politically. Trump has no doubt seen polls that show if he’s convicted of a crime, it will hurt him badly in the election. For example, a February Bloomberg poll found that that 53% of voters in swing states responded they would not to vote for Trump if he were convicted of a crime. And in March, Politico reported that by a more than 2-1 margin, those polled said if Trump was convicted in his New York criminal case, they would be less likely to support him—especially independents.
Of course, we know when it comes to the MAGA faithful, a conviction of Trump will make them love him more. But alarmingly for Trump, a Reuters poll released this week found that nearly 25% of Republicans indicated they would not for Trump if he was convicted of a felony by a jury. Even if half of those 25% stay true to that, it could make it next to impossible for Trump to win in 2024. Consequently, Trump’s number one priority during the trial will be to delegitimize this case as a Biden run political prosecution.
What has been the response of the Biden campaign and other Democratic leaders to this lie Trump has peddled for well over a year? In general, silence. And apparently that is by design as Democratic National Committee Chair Jamie Harrison explained on my SiriusXM show on last Friday when I asked would Democratic leaders be countering Trump’s expected daily lies during the trial on this issue. Harrison explained that “we can’t take the bait” because Trump “wants Joe Biden to get involved” in what is going on with him legally. (Harrison did note that if Trump is convicted of a felony, they will certainly be using that against Trump.)
The reality is if Democratic leaders don’t respond, then the only information the public will hear is Trump non-stop claiming that the New York trial was brought at the direction of Biden. While Trump has made this point before, the expected massive media coverage of the trial will allow Trump to amplify that message. Common sense tells us that if there is no counter-narrative, it makes it that much easier for the pubic to be misled on an issue. And as we have learned, the corporate media on its own won’t include this type of fact checking unless Democrats are constantly raising it.
That is why Democratic leaders must counter Trump’s lie on a daily basis. And here's the best news for Democrats: They have the perfect antidote to Trump’s lie that the New York criminal case was started and directed by Biden.
In reality, the criminal investigation into Trump that led to the current charges began when Trump was President—back in 2018. Yep, in 2018 under Trump! And the reason the investigation was initiated by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office at the time was not Joe Biden, but Trump’s own lawyer/fixer Michael Cohen. When Cohen plead guilty in 2018 to federal crimes that included arranging the “hush money” payments on Trump’s behalf in violation of federal election laws, the Manhattan DA opened a criminal investigation into this matter.
However, that investigation by the DA was stopped after a request from Trump’s own DOJ because they wanted to potentially investigate any such crimes first. Yes, Trump’s DOJ delayed the investigation. When Trump’s DOJ finally gave the Manhattan DA the greenlight in late 2019 to resume their investigation, Trump, through his lawyers, delayed the investigation over and over that led to two cases before the US Supreme Court. Finally in 2021, the DA obtained Trump’s tax records and more allowing them to focus on Trump’s “hush money” crimes.
In sum, Democrats should be pointing out repeatedly that this criminal investigation began in 2018 under Trump’s presidency because of Trump’s own lawyer, Michael Cohen, telling prosecutors Trump committed crimes. And from there, it was intentionally delayed by Trump for years.
Democrats should also be pounding home the fact that Trump was indicted neither by Biden nor DA Alvin Bragg but by a group of fellow Americans who served on a Manhattan grand jury. After these people heard testimony from people like Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels and others, they concluded that Trump should be charged with 34 felonies. That is how our criminal justice system works.
Democratic leaders can choose how to best counter Trump’s expected non-stop lies about his New York trial being something orchestrated by Biden—be it daily press releases, social media posts, digital videos, etc. But what they cannot do is be silent.
We know that Trump will exit the courtroom every day to find a phalanx of reporters waiting to transcribe his every utterance. The country would be well served if, for once, the elite political press restrained themselves and didn't show up. I know it's likely far too much to ask, but imagine his reaction if he were to emerge and find nobody waiting, no cameras, no nothing. It might just save democracy.
Absolutely could not agree with you more on this!! I understand Biden’s team not wanting to take the bait, but allowing only one narrative is detrimental to the truth and democracy.