Donald Trump shouts at journalists as he returns to the White House from Florida, October 03, 2019 (Win McNamee/Getty)


I spoke with CNN International’s Natalie Allen on Sunday about the imminent trial of Donald Trump, emphasizing the need not to be distracted from the facts by the “Trump Show”.

We discuss the two competing narratives after Trump’s impeachment by the House: the narrative of the facts over his pressure on Ukraine to investigate political rivals v. the narrative, avoiding those facts and shouting “Witch Hunt”, via Trump’s Twitter feed, rallies, and falsehoods.

See also EA on Monocle 24, BBC, and talkRADIO: Why Trump Had to Be Impeached
TrumpWatch, Day 1,067: Trump Trial — Democrats Push McConnell to Allow Witnesses

What do we do?

First, call out the lies when they are lies.

Second, get to the facts. The trial of Donald Trump is based on documents, on testimony from 17 current and former US officials.

The Trump Show doesn’t care about the evidence, it can’t deal with the evidence. So it creates the circus, the spectacle and counts on enough media to watch the spectacle to get away with the facts.