'He's miserable': Trump struggling to cope with the 'small indignities' of being on trial
Donald Trump's forced appearance in court for his hush money trial is subjecting him to something he is not accustomed to having to deal with and it is getting to him, reports the Wall Street Journal.
After two weeks of having to sit in the Manhattan courtroom where he is facing 34 felony counts related to paying hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels, the Journal's Corrine Ramey wrote that the restrictions on his movements in the courthouse, being unable to speak when he wants to and even what he is allowed to drink while in the courtroom are making him increasingly gloomy.
More to the point, Donald Trump long-time friend John Catsimatidis told the Journal, "He’s miserable. There is no more horrible thing than just having to sit there and be quiet.”
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According to Ramey's report, "Donald Trump, a billionaire accustomed to jet-setting between adoring campaign rallies and his Florida estate, has spent two weeks—with as many as six to go—sitting unhappily at the defense table in the city where he built his real-estate empire and his 2016 White House campaign. "
As for those "small indignities" being visited upon the former president, she notes, "He’s freezing, he says, due to the building’s finicky heating system. In court he can’t eat or drink anything but water, robbing him of some of the multiple of the Diet Cokes he consumes in a typical day. He can use the bathroom only when the judge declares a break in proceedings. A panel of 18 New Yorkers—12 jurors and six alternates—have front-row seats to his every yawn, catnap and mutter. "
The Journal's Ramey added to reports that the 77-year-old Trump is having trouble staying awake throughout the proceedings, writing he ".... often he looks just plain bored. His eyes close for extended periods and his head starts to nod. He tilts his head back and crosses his arms. Even the slightest assertion of autonomy can provoke a rebuke from the judge."
Add to that, she notes Trump has lost control of his daily calendar, writing that presiding Judge Juan Merchan has been less than accommodating when the former president has tried to get extra days off or, as he has successfully done in his other criminal trials, delay the proceedings.