Of all the questions asked during former President Donald J. Trump's trial, one more accurately reflects the trial's worldview than the one his defense asked witness Keith Davidson in early May. There are almost no
“Do you know who Tila Tequila is?”
That's certainly true, said Davidson, a Los Angeles lawyer with a niche specialty in extracting financial settlements from celebrities. Tila Tequila, the men's magazine model and reality TV star who briefly rose to MTV fame in the early 2000s, once appeared in a sex tape. Mr. Davidson sought to profit even before he became famous by representing Stormy Daniels, the porn star who was at the center of the former U.S. president's first prosecution.
Tila Tequila, Daniels, and Trump are all members of a group of media operators, A-list celebrities, and elected officials whose names correspond to Page 6 and “Page 12.'' This was revealed in weekly testimony. Angry men. ”
The stakes in the case are high, but the story behind it is allegation of adultery and extortion, secret deals and secretly recorded phone calls, meetings at the White House, and sex acts in a hotel suite in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. It's included, and it's completely trivial.
Hollywood and “Access Hollywood” have been repeatedly discussed, as has Trump's former reality show, “The Apprentice.” Ms. Daniels said that in 2006, Ms. Daniels had dangled a role on her show in order to lure her into having sex (though Ms. Daniels denies having sex, Ms. Daniels nevertheless said in PG-13 detail (explained on the witness stand).
A variety of films were mentioned, including the animated series “Up” and the Fox News drama “Bombshell,” which feature an excitable dog that clearly bears no resemblance to Michael D. Cohen, Trump's former fixer and current prosecution witness. There is. Prosecutors said Daniels cited the movie as a way to remember new details about her night with Trump.
Television coverage of the trial has been hampered by a ban on cameras in the courtroom, but the trial continues to feature a string of cable TV stars, filling hours of airtime. They include liberal hosts like MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, conservatives like Fox News' Jeanine Pirro, and prominent anchors like CNN's Anderson Cooper. He appeared in court Thursday and stormed out of the courtroom during lunch to announce that the defense had done an “incredible” job, to the delight of Trump's conservative supporters.
Top Republican officials in Washington, sometimes derisively known as “Hollywood for the Ugly,” also took part in the parade, with a parade of vice presidential candidates appearing to show support for Trump.
These Republican lawmakers have been harshly critical of the incident and of the witnesses, whose gag orders have prevented Trump from attacking them. Such appearances satisfy the hungry photographers crowding the Manhattan courthouse and help generate content for Mr. Trump's social media feeds and campaign emails.
Actors and athletes such as Charlie Sheen, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tiger Woods, and Ben Roethlisberger Donald's list of Friends of the Donald (FOD) on his contact list were all mentioned in court as well. Comedian and former talk show host Rosie O'Donnell, who apparently has a strong friendship with Mr Cohen, had her name sullied by insulting asides in her evidence. Elvis Presley also praised it highly.
The result is a blend of pop culture and courtroom drama, with clever details, bold names and legal arguments, a touch of politics, and a view of Trump as the likely Republican nominee, with some polls showing him leading. The presidential election is factored in, which shows that one thing is true. in many battleground states.
However, playwright and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner, who has been an outspoken critic of Trump, said he found the defendant less appealing as a person than others who came after him.
“They're tired of democracy, it's too difficult, and they're trying to get some magic solution that will remove the tension of trying to live on earth with people who are nothing like them. I think so,” he said. Kushner has been working on a play about the former president for years. “That's dramatic.”
It's no surprise that this case has a tabloid feel. Mr. Trump has long been a fan of these easy-to-read publications and has featured them. And men and politicians, whose public personas have been forged by television and social media, are the culprits of both.
But even with all the buzz surrounding Trump's case, which is likely to reach closing arguments next week, no one has dominated the American conversation as much as the 1995 O.J. murder, to which it was often compared before the case even began. I couldn't see it. Simpson.
Whitney Phillips, a professor of journalism and communications at the University of Oregon, said the explanations are complex, including political fatigue and a fragmented media environment where consumers can ignore stories they don't care about, and that her own field of expertise is explained as follows. “Political hellscape”
Professor Phillips said: “There are references to pop culture, references to celebrities cutting down on their personalities, and there's also pornography in the background.” “It has all the things you would expect that people would center their lives around. But it's not exactly playing out that way.”
David Margolick, a writer who covered the Simpson trial for the New York Times, was even more blunt.
“If this is the trial of the century, the next 75 years are going to be pretty boring,” he said.
Still, the courtroom gave political news fans in particular a behind-the-scenes peek into Trump's desperate efforts to hide Daniel's story and what former Playboy Karen McDougal said. There were many surprising moments. Her model girlfriend said she had a 10-month affair with Trump in 2006 and 2007 (something Trump also denies).
Former White House communications director Hope Hicks broke down in tears on stage as the “Access Hollywood'' scandal, in which Trump bragged about grabbing her genitals, was reignited.
In the eyes of Mr. Trump, a fan of television and ratings, the trial is almost certain to pay off. Overall viewership for major cable news networks increased across the board compared to the same period last year. Year. Fox News rose 18%, CNN 24% and MSNBC 19%, according to Nielsen.
But from a dramatic standpoint, the trial could be difficult to recreate on stage or screen, the writers say, despite the cast of characters and potential themes of revenge and redemption. .
Playwright J.T. Rogers, who won a Tony Award for his diplomatic drama “Oslo,” said part of the challenge is the sense that no matter what the verdict is, it won't change many people's minds. He said it was one.
“It's really impossible to make a movie out of this series or series because there's no change,” Rogers said. He added that Trump, as the central figure, “doesn't have the ability to experience moments that deeply expose his own mistakes and failures, and that's what we're going to see.”
Late-night talk shows have become a scene-of-the-field situation, with jokes about everything from Republican court appearances to Mr. Trump's habit of closing his eyes in court.
J.L. Corbin, a comedian and former Bronx district attorney, said he was shocked by the conservative reaction to Trump's case, calling him “white O.J.”
“I think most of the people who support him recognize his guilt,” Corbyn said, adding that Trump's supporters believed “this is bigger than one incident.” , added that they believed their movement had been “wronged by the establishment.” ”
Mr Corbyn, a masterful imitator of Mr Trump, added that the trial was a mirror to the country's celebrity-obsessed culture. “We created him,” he said.
In a courtroom packed with reporters, members of the public and elected officials, Judge Juan M. Machan has tried to keep the situation from turning into a circus.
For example, during Ms. Daniels' testimony, he strictly warned her to avoid going on tangents. He also warned Trump about what he would say in court, citing his violation of the gag order.
Even before testimony began, Judge Marchan told jurors that some of what they would see in the courtroom did not match the high drama of the on-screen legal thriller.
“Similar things happen on television and in movies,” Judge Machan said. “But that doesn't happen in a real trial.”
Michael M. Greenbaum and Kate Christbeck Contributed to the report.
