Nikki Haley, the former US Ambassador to the UN, at the 1st Republican Presidential Debate, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 23, 2023
UPDATE 1925 GMT:
I joined host Tina Daheley on BBC Radio 2 to concentrate on the legal and political facts and, doing so, to dismantle the disinformation pushed by Trumpist activist Erol Morkoc.
Politics should never be allowed to prejudice the facts of the case. It should never be used to help Trump take apart the US legal system for his personal benefit.
Listen to Discussion from 15:42
UPDATE 1912 GMT:
I spoke with Talk TV’s Peter Cardwell on Friday about the challenge of cutting through Donald Trump’s disinformation and diversions to keep focus on the important facts in his multiple cases.
It’s not necessarily the facts that matter. It’s who controls the narrative.
This is not just about Donald Trump. It’s about a man who happens to be named Trump who is trying to take down the US legal system, the US political system, and US democracy to put himself beyond accountability.
UPDATE 1856 GMT:
I rejoined GB News on Friday morning to analyze Donald Trump’s tactics to bury the legal process and — pulling much of the media by the nose — to spin an inevitable political success out of his 91 felony charges.
Interestingly, there is some sympathy from the hosts on the hard-right UK outlet for the argument that journalists and analysts need to concentrate on facts and issues rather than Turmp’s spectacle.
If we talk just about Trump, he blocks out the sun and he’s the only one whom the media can find in the dark.
UPDATE 1325 GMT:
Speaking with Turkey’s TRT World, EA’s David Dunn offers further analysis on Donald Trump’s political tactics trying to turn his arrest in Georgia to his advantage.
He is milking this for what it’s worth. Rather than address the charges, he is trying to put the Justice Department on trial, making this appear as a “witch hunt” and “persecution” than a legal process — and thus avoid talking about his record in office or his plans in a second term.
UPDATE, AUG 25:
EA’s David Dunn joined GB News on Thursday to analyze both the Republican Presidential debate and Donald Trump’s “media manipulation” to keep attention exclusively on him rather than on his rivals.
By and large, the other candidates didn’t show their leadership by attacking Trump on the issues — over his involvement in [the Capitol Attack] of January, over his alleged guilt in the many criminal charges he faces.
So they indicated they were being candidates for a place in the Trump Cabinet, rather than for the Presidency.
ORIGINAL ENTRY, AUG 24:
I joined Monocle 24’s Andrew Mueller on Thursday to analyze the latest developments in US politics, from Donald Trump’s arrest in Georgia to Wednesday night’s first Republican Presidential debate.
I explain the importance of Trump’s four indictments and 91 felony charges, and thus his attempts to undermine the legal system and escape accountability.
Asked “Is American voting public in danger of forgetting just how weird this all is?”, I respond:
No. We’re reminded of the weirdness on a daily basis.
This isn’t unprecedented. Donald Trump already broke history with his first set of indictments.
To be the first former President with four sets of indictments and 91 felony counts: that’s pretty special, that’s historic — albeit not the history that I think Trump wanted to make.
The danger is that the legal process will be buried or distorted by the mud thrown on the wall and the dust thrown in our eyes by Trump and his supporters.
After working through the scenarios, from whether Trump will flee the US (No.) to whether he will relentlessly pursue disinformation and diversion (Yes.), I turn to the eight GOP Presidential candidates and the issues in the debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
