Donald Trump has complained nonstop for weeks about being gagged. The hush money trial, involving an alleged pay-off to porn star Stormy Daniels, has been monstrously unfair, he wailed repeatedly outside court. According to his own version of events, his prosecution was a horrible witch hunt, built on lies, because America’s self-described “favourite” president never slept with Daniels in the first place, let alone tried to subvert the course of the 2016 election by paying $130,000 for her silence.
So what did the bombastic Trump do when offered the chance to defend himself in court? He kept his mouth firmly zipped. In effect he gagged himself, despite vowing, “Yeah, I would testify, absolutely,” at a press conference in Florida before the start of the trial. “I’m testifying. I tell the truth,” he asserted, knowing full well he was unlikely to take the stand. “I mean, all I can do is tell the truth, and the truth is there is no case.” The fact that his lawyers were terrified he would make an appalling witness did not make his decision to remain silent any less craven.
