When people ask me what it was like to cover the Trump White House, I often describe what the days were like. Get up. Read what Trump tweeted overnight. See what the White House was rolling out for the day. Check the newsletters. Peruse the papers. Write a story. Then tear it up when Trump does something that changes the news of the day and often sabotages the morning's work. For me the day started waiting for Trump to go to the courthouse.
Yes, Trump's poll numbers among Republican voters bumped up. It was downright Clintonesque -- as this episode served to remind voters that they hate big media more than Trump. Bragg wanted to get Trump in the worst way, and he did -- a thin document that rebranded misdemeanors as felonies for moldy bookkeeping misdeeds that lawmen previously had decided lacked the heft and the outrage factor to haul a former U.S. president to court. Trump pleaded not guilty.