YORK TIMES" BEST SELLING BOOK, "THE RECKONING, OUR NATIONS TRAUMA AND FINDING A WAY TO HEAL." MARY TRUMP, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR JOINING US ON THIS IMPORTANT NIGHT . WHAT DO YOU THINK WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR UNCLE'S MIND IN THAT COURTROOM AND WHAT HE MIGHT BE THINKING TONIGHT? >> FIRST AND FOREMOST, THANK GOODNESS HE ONLY HAD TO SIT THERE FOR THREE HOURS. OTHER THAN THAT, HE MUST KNOW IT IS NOT GOING WELL. AND, ONE OF THE THINGS I FIND REALLY QUITE INTERESTING IS THE EXTENT TO WHICH HE SEEMS INCAPABLE OF CONNECTING WITH THE JURY. SO, I'M GOING TO BE VERY INTERESTED IN SEEING HOW THAT PLAYS OUT. MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, AND I KNOW OTHER PEOPLE HAVE COMMENTED ON IT, IT IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT. IT IS THE EXTENT TO WHICH HE HAS NO CONTROL OVER THE SITUATION AND HE NEEDS CONTROL IN ORDER TO PROJECT THE IMAGE THAT HE HAS BEEN ABLE TO PROJECT FOR SO LONG. WITHOUT THAT CONTROL, IT ALL FALLS APART. WE KNOW THAT DONALD IS A VERY WEAK PERSON, OR AT LEAST SOME OF US KNOW THAT AND THAT HIS EGO IS A VERY FRAGILE THING THAT NEEDS TO BE BOLSTERED IN EVERY MOMENT. HE NEEDS THE RALLY, HE NEEDS THE APPLAUSE IN THE DINING ROOM AT MAR-A-LAGO. HE KNOWS, DEEP DOWN, HE DOES NOTHING OF WHAT HE CLAIMS TO BE. HE IS JUST THIS FRIGHTENED LITTLE BOY. BUT, WITH THE HELP OF A LOT OF SMOKE AND MIRRORS AND SYCOPHANT CONVINCE OTHER PEOPLE, AND HIMSELF THAT HE IS ACTUALLY A SUCCESSFUL, TOUGH, KILLER. WE HEAR THAT WORD COME UP BUT IT IS A VERY IMPORTANT WORD IN DONALD'S PSYCHOLOGICAL HISTORY. AND, WITHOUT THE CONTROL, WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO CONTROL THE LIGHTING OR THE TEMPERATURE, WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO LEAVE OR USE HIS PHONE WITHOUT PERMISSION, WHICH HE PROBABLY WOULDN'T GET, IT ALL STARTS TO ON LEVEL. AND, WHAT I THINK WE ARE GOING TO SEE IN TERMS OF HIS DESPERATION IN HIS HALLWAY RANTS BEFORE AND AFTER, AND HIS INABILITY TO STOP GLARING AT PEOPLE WHO ARE, OR HIS INABILITY TO CONNECT WITH THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE, IN SOME SENSE, HIS FUTURE IN THEIR HANDS, THAT HE CAN'T KEEP HIMSELF ANY MORE ABOUT HIS POWER AND HIS PLACE AND HIS PRIVILEGE AND WHAT IS PROBABLY EVEN WORSE, HE CAN'T KID ANYBODY ELSE EITHER AND HE KNOWS IT. >> I HAVE A FEELING HE HAS ALWAYS BEEN WRONG ABOUT HOW HE COMES ACROSS TO PEOPLE, BY WHICH I MEAN SOME PEOPLE WERE COMPLETELY CHARMED BY HIM AND LIKED HIM. I MEAN THIS IN THE PRE- POLITICIAN ERA. BUT, HE ALWAYS CAME ACROSS AS JUST, AS "SPY MAGAZINE," CALLED HIM, A BULGARIAN, WHICH WAS A PERFECT, IF YOU ARE OUT A SINGLE ADJECTIVE ABOUT DONALD TRUMP, THIS IS A VERY, VERY SMALL MINDED BULGARIAN AND CERTAINLY WHAT I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT ABOUT IT, HE COULD NEVER HAVE TURNED TO ME IN ANY WAY. MOST PEOPLE I KNOW. HE DOESN'T KNOW THAT. HE NEVER HAD ANY IDEA THAT THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT JUST IMMUNE TO HIM BUT TOOK AN ACTIVE DISLIKE FOR WHAT HE OBVIOUSLY REPRESENTED. SO, HIS DISCONNECT FROM THE JURY MUST ALSO INCLUDE THIS MISTAKE HE'S MADE HIS WHOLE LIFE OF THINKING THAT EVERYBODY THINKS I'M GREAT. >> LISTEN, HE HAS HAD A LOT OF HELP. YOU KNOW, FRAGILE SYSTEMS BEND TOWARD THE MOST DYSFUNCTIONAL PERSON IN THEM. WE HAVE SEEN THIS TIME AFTER TIME IN DONALD'S LIFE. THE GROUND ZERO FOR THIS WAS MY FAMILY, OF COURSE. AND THEN IT WAS THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. AND THEN IT WAS THE DOJ, BOTH IN HIS ADMINISTRATION AND IN PRESIDENT BIDEN'S ADMINISTRATION. TIME AFTER TIME AFTER TIME, WE HAVE SEEN THAT PEOPLE IN THOSE SYSTEMS MAKE A CHOICE, WHETHER IT IS JUDGE AILEEN CANON OR BILL BARR OR THE SUPREME COURT OR MERRICK GARLAND, WHETHER IT IS OUT OF FEAR OR FAVOR, THEY INTENTIONALLY OR NOT, CONSCIOUSLY OR NOT COME DOWN ON THE SIDE OF PROTECTING OR ELEVATING DONALD TRUMP SO IT ISN'T, IT IS NOT ANY WONDER THAT HE WOULD THINK THAT HE WOULD BE ABLE TO CONTROL ANY SITUATION HE IS IN AND THAT IS WHY WE ARE GOING TO BE SEEING SOME VERY, POTENTIALLY DISTURBING BEHAVIOR FROM HIM IN THE COURTROOM AND OUTSIDE OF IT. AFTER FOUR, FIVE DAYS, IT IS ALREADY MANIFESTING ITSELF. >> HE IS ATTACKING THE JURY TONIGHT. HE HAS ATTACKED THE JURY ONCE BEFORE IN A DIRECT VIOLATION OF THE GAG ORDER ON HIM AND THAT IS THE FIRST THING THE JUDGE HAS TO RULE ON TOMORROW IS HOW MUCH HAS DONALD TRUMP VIOLATED THAT GAG ORDER? >> JUDGE JUAN MERCHAN IS IN A SIMILAR SITUATION IN DECIDING WHAT SIDE SHOULDN'T PUT IT THAT WAY, WHAT KIND OF DECISION HE'S GOING TO MAKE. IS HE, AS ANDREW WEISSMAN SUGGEST HE SHOULD, NOT JUDGE OUT OF FEAR OR FAVOR AND THAT IS WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN. THE WHOLE IDEA THAT DONALD IS A VICTIM HERE OF ANYBODY BUT HIMSELF OR THE WHOLE IDEA THAT THE SYSTEM IS RIGGED AGAINST HIM AND THAT IT IS MUCH MORE FAIR TO EVERYBODY ELSE IS LAUGHABLY ABSURD, OF COURSE. AND, IT IS ABOUT TIME THAT THIS MADNESS STOP BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT DONALD ENDANGERS PEOPLE'S LIVES. AND, WE KNOW THAT AS YOU POINTED OUT EARLIER, WE HAVE ALREADY SEEN THAT THERE ARE JURORS WHO ARE UNDERSTANDABLY QUITE CONCERNED ABOUT HOW THIS TRIAL AND THEIR PARTICIPATION IN IT, THEIR WILLINGNESS TO DO THEIR CIVIC DUTY MAY PUT THEM, PUT THEMSELVES IN HARMS WAY, WHICH IS JUST UNACCEPTABLE. >> DONALD TRUMP'S DEFENSE LAWYER, TODD BLANCHE, SAID THIS IN HIS OPENING STATEMENT TODAY. "HE'S NOT JUST DONALD TRUMP THAT YOU'VE SEEN ON TV AND READ ABOUT AND SEEN PHOTOS OF, HE'S ALSO A MAN, HE'S A HUSBAND, HE'S A FATHER AND HE'S A PERSON , JUST LIKE YOU AND JUST LIKE ME." NO, I DON'T KNOW WHY HE DIDN'T INCLUDE UNCLE, SINCE YOU ARE OUT THERE, SO THIS POINT ABOUT HE'S A HUSBAND AND A FATHER, THAT IS THE FIRST TIME, AND I'VE DONE A LOT OF CRIMINAL COURT ROOMS WATCHING TRIALS, THAT IS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE SEEN A CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER DESCRIBE HIS CLIENT AS A HUSBAND AND A FATHER WITHOUT, WITHOUT HAVING THE WIFE AND THE CHILDREN IN THE FRONT ROE OF THE COURTROOM . THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I'VE NEVER SEEN NOT ACTUALLY MADE MANIFEST IN THE COURTROOM BEFORE. DONALD TRUMP IS IN THAT COURTROOM ALONE. JEFFREY DAHMER'S PARENTS WERE THERE EVERY SINGLE DAY. IT IS, IT IS VERY HARD TO FIND A COURTROOM WHERE THE CRIMINAL DEFENDANT DOESN'T HAVE A RELATIVE SITTING THERE IN THE FRONT ROE . >> WELL, A COUPLE OF THINGS ABOUT THAT. FIRST OF ALL, IT IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HOW HE PERVERTS THE SYSTEMS OR EXPECTATIONS. FOR ANYBODY ELSE, THAT WOULD JUST BE DAMMING, RIGHT? JUST THE WAY HE TALKS ABOUT DOGS WOULD BE DAMMING. HOW MANY TIMES HAVE WE HEARD THAT HIS BIZARRE BEHAVIOR, THAT HE ENGAGES IN BIZARRE BEHAVIORS OR JUST DOESN'T CONFORM IN A WAY THAT A REASONABLY WELL- ADJUSTED HUMAN BEING WOULD? LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE ABOUT HIM, IT JUST KIND OF GETS BAKED IN, RIGHT? IT IS. IT IS WORTH PAUSING ABOUT HOW UNFAIR, UNREAL, BIZARRE, STRANGE, UNACCEPTABLE, WEIRD, WHATEVER ADJECTIVE YOU WANT TO USE, IT IS THAT HE IS THERE ALONE IN TERMS OF FRIENDS AND FAMILY. I THINK IT IS WORTH POINTING OUT . ONE, I DON'T THINK HE CARES. I DON'T THINK IT MATTERS TO HIM. THAT IS NOT WHERE HE GETS HIS ENERGY. THAT IS NOT WHAT GIVES HIM SOLACE TO THE EXTENT THAT ANYTHING DOES. HE IS MORE UPSET ABOUT THE FACT THAT THERE AREN'T MORE PEOPLE OUTSIDE PROTESTING ON HIS BEHALF, RIGHT? IT ALSO POINTS TO THE BIZARRE THING ABOUT MY FAMILY THAT EVERY TRANSACTION IN THIS FAMILY IS A TRANSACTIONAL ONE. I'M SORRY, EVERY RELATIONSHIP, I SHOULD SAY, IS A
