Donald Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, one of his 18 defendants in the Georgia felony case over a scheme to overturn the 2020 President election (Seth Wenig/AP/File)

UPDATE, AUG 23:

I joined GB News again on Wednesday to analyze tonight’s first Republican Presidential debate in Wisconsin and the imminent arrest of Donald Trump in Georgia.

I avoid the trap of “Will the indictments help Trump politically?” by highlighting his tactic “to block out the sun” through disinformation and attacks on all involved in his cases, including prosecutors, the judge, the jury, and witnesses.

Let the political campaign unwind wherever it goes. But let’s stick to the facts of these four sets of indictments and 91 felony charges, and not try to divert and bury what is happening.

I then reiterate the duty of the media to push aside Trump’s diversions and to pay attention to the Republican debates and the important issues facing the US.

To my surprise, hard-right analyst Steve Gill did not — as in his other appearances on UK television — push Trump’s lines but joined in the substance of the discussion.

We also discuss whether there will be a UK-India trade deal, and I briefly explain how this week’s BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) summit does not signal India’s support for Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine.

ORIGINAL ENTRY, AUG 22: I joined GB News on Tuesday to discuss the arrest of Donald Trump in Georgia on Thursday, over his plot to overturn the 2020 election outcome in that state — and to explain how to avoid Trump’s political trap over four sets of indictments and 91 felony charges.

I begin by knocking back the Trumpist claim, trying to bury the legal process, that it only strengthens his 2024 Presidential campaign.

I then detail the Georgia charges against Trump and 18 co-defendants, including his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and explain how the state authorities — requiring a $200,000 bond for Trump to avoid prison and barring him from social media comment on the case and witnesses — are even tougher than federal counterparts in the handling of the felony charges.

I conclude with a look at Wednesday night’s first Republican Presidential debate and the other GOP candidates, asking if the media will cover them and the issues — or get led by the nose by Trump’s shouts as he skips the event and chats with his friend, the fired Fox TV host Tucker Carlson.

This parallel universe that we’ve had in America for years — trying to talk about facts, the system, and issues vs. the parallel with Trump’s circus where he and Tucker are the ringmasters.