Watch the ReidOut with Joy Reid Highlights: April 29

When Donald Trump enters the New York City courtroom tomorrow for his second week in front of a 12- member jury in his first criminal trial He's Surely hoping that his lawyers continue following his lead and that of his former Mentor Roy con who taught him the strategy of deflect distract never give in and most of all admit no wrong of course that strategy hasn't appeared to go too well for Trump's defense team so far during last week's hearing on whether Trump violated his gag order at least 10 times Trump's lawyer Todd blanch claimed that counter to what was clearly evident by Trump's actions on potential trial witnesses that quote president Trump is being very careful to comply with your Honor's rules unquote that led to a Stern response from Judge Juan Marshon you Mr blanch you are losing all credibility I have to tell you that right now you are losing all credibility with the court mind you that exchange came on only the second day of the jury being seated in what is expected to be a week long trial as the New York Times points out as the trial grinds on in the weeks ahead legal experts said the defense team will need to walk a fine line to appease both of its audiences 12 jurors and a singular defendant trying the case to your client's vanity rather than to the jury is a losing game said Jay Bruce MAFO a former Federal prosecutor joining me now is Harry Litman former US attorney and senior legal Affairs columnist for the Los Angeles Times and Doug Jones former Alabama a senator and former US attorney who is currently a distinguished senior fellow at the center for American progress thank you both for being here har I we'll start with you at the table uh it does seem that Todd blanch was kind of hamstrung by trying to please Donald Trump I mean all of the this sort of weirdness of calling him president Trump when he's not the president and just insisting on using that terminology and saying he did no wrong he did nothing wrong all of it just seems to be for Trump's benefit how well do you think that's working out for them in the trial so far not VAR and I think it's only going to get worse look we talked about Roy con uh Trump we often compare to a mob boss but even when a mob boss is under indictment and goes to see his Roy con Roy con says all right shut up and listen to me now I know what needs to happen we're going to go there and say maybe you haven't lived an exemplary life but this charge and that charge they can't do that with Trump and what it means is they're going to have to say he never had an affair with McDougall he never slept with um stormy and all in all for the jury I mean it's it's one thing for him to deflect and deny but there are 12 people there who are judging his credibility and can everyone be lying here imagine the cross-examination they're going to have to do on Stormy Daniels it's the wrong way to cross they're just going to have to call her a flaming liar they triy to assume the same for pecker it's a terrible strategy if they know that that that they're lying isn't that some sort of miscon conduct on the part of the the lawyers that's very interesting if they know that well I mean they won't say yeah well they they can't AB you know they can't suborn perjury but the perjury here would be from Donald Trump and I don't think we're going to see him testify they can suggest to that Daniels well you're making this up aren't you but there's only so far they can go and it'll just in front of a jury it'll look like they're badgering her and the like there stuff and also his whole image from the 1980s is just the a witness against him of course he did it let me go to you Doug Jones um this was Donald Trump's complaint last week uh that he was stuck in court these are all Bon trials this is done as election interference everybody knows it I'm here instead of being able to be in Pennsylvania and Georgia and lots of other places campaigning and it's very unfair uh today is Monday there are there is no court today I doubt Donald Trump is campaigning or nor is he probably with Melania because let's just be honest she doesn't want to hang out with him it's clear here's what he did the days that he would did not have court last week Wednesday golf Saturday golf Sunday golf um he does have a couple campaign events this Wednesday in Wisconsin and Michigan but up to now he has not utilized his time when he's not in court to campaign your thoughts you know the thought that I had when I first heard that comment when he said he was supposed to be in North Carolina he was supposed to be in Pennsylvania well no he's supposed to be in court he's a criminal defendant and he is required to be in court maybe he would like to be in North Carolina but I don't know and I bet Harry would agree I've never seen a criminal defendant who didn't want to be anywhere the hell else other than sitting in a court with the United States of America or the state of X saying that you're on trial for a crime so you know look I I really think that that's just playing to the cameras uh Donald Trump is going to do what Donald Trump wants to do on the weekends he will campaign some what's striking to me is how little campaigning he's actually doing uh as opposed to President Biden who is who is traveling across this country you know two or three times a week it's really stunning uh the way they have picked up the pace of their uh travels and Donald Trump's not doing that he wants to campaign by complaining about the trial and that's it Doug Jones uh you prosecuted clansmen any of them ever fall asleep in in court while you were Prosecuting them you know didn't look over I didn't pay any attention but I doubt it seriously you know those those kind of cases um any kind of case a defendant more than probably just about anybody is acutely aware of the circumstances and acutely aware of what they are facing there's no one else in that courtroom that is facing what that criminal defendant is facing and you better be on top of your game because I know that Tod blanch is a good lawyer and I am confident that he has told his client this jury is is going to be watching you every second they're going to be watching you even when they're supposed to be watching the judge or a witness and so you've got to make sure that you have the right demeanor you stay alert uh and and because your body language he may not testify but his body language tells it all same to you uh Harryman you're I mean have you ever seen a defendant in such a high-profile case where they can go to jail fall asleep yeah I mean look I I I was in court and so you could see the jury and see and see Trump and see the attentiveness obviously not he you know there it shows I I think who knows what's going through his mind and what medication he's taking and the like but obviously any lawyer would you know n was interesting is it having been in the courtroom that the day that I was there too it is interesting to watch the jurors really play ping pong they really do watch whoever's testifying and then they keep looking back over at Donald Trump and they're taking notes they're they're not falling asleep like they're actually very ATT um did you get any signals to any of the particular Witnesses being of interest to them when you were sitting there well I think they really were focused on you know pecker is a weird guy a kind of a kind of a scoundrel but a I thought he played it like an open book and they were attentive to him and they were very attentive on the redirect the last part when the da was there you could see them go a little bit more in their in their seats they've also there's been a lot of preview about Michael Cohen Michael Cohen I'm sure when he comes they'll be focused hard uh Doug Jones there's an April 23rd gag order hearing and then there's a a Thursday uh gag order hearing that's coming up what do you anticipate happening here because Donald Trump is is notoriously difficult to restrain what do you expect this judge to do you know I I think it's it's hard to say I I don't see that this judge right now is going to in any way put him in custody but I do think he'll talk to him I do think he will say you know you are stretching the Court's limits here with what you have done I think he will find that he violated the gag order it seems pretty clear to I think just about anybody that's ever been in a criminal case that he has violated the gag order and then and likely done it intentionally and that's where I think his lawyer got into some problems with the court when he said he was trying his best to to comply it's pretty clear that he's trying his best to go this judge into doing something and that's a that could be a potent a problem but I don't think this judge will take the bait I think he wants to get this trial through and proceed nothing has happened and I think he's going to just have a Stern talking Harry Litman and former Senator Doug Jones thank you both very much the problem with Ronda sanctimonious is that he needs a personality transplant and those are not yet available you know what I the expression I said he's like a wounded bird falling from the sky so there he is it's Ronda sanctimonious he's falling falling beautifully from the sky it's beautiful thing to watch Ronda sanctimonious was walking off the stage and his feet it's weird cuz there's cowboy boots so they have a high heel outside but inside you got a big deal going on and he's walking away no he's walking off the stage like he's trying to balance himself I thought he was wearing ice skates he's like a wounded bird falling from this guy after spending the better part of the past year being publicly mocked and humiliated by Donald Trump on the campaign Trail Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appears to be ready to gravel at the feat of his former primary rival Trump and DeSantis met privately in Florida this weekend to bury the hatchet and talk about how they can work together ahead of the November election for Trump the truth appears to be purely for financial reasons according to the Washington Post Trump's advisers hope DeSantis will tap his donor Network to help raise significant sums of money because as we all know Trump really needs it Walter santis is apparently just looking out for his own political future and if history has any indication it's now only a matter of time before DeSantis or desan tonius or whatever he's calling himself now probably because Trump wants him to adds his name to the long list of Republicans who went from challenging or opposing Trump to publicly degrading themselves on his behalf joining the likes of Lindsey Graham Ted Cruz and Tim Scott joining me now is Matthew out former Republican strategist and MSNBC senior political analyst um what's the over undera santis starts calling himself Ronda sanctimonious I don't know that over under under whether he's gonna apply the label but what's the over under on not quickly he out there campaigning for Donald Trump my guess is five days Days yeah a few days yeah um in the course of this and you could add in your list of people that have graveled Marco Rubio is also on that list of people that yeah in the course of this I mean what's amazing to me this is a political party the Republicans that have run on this constant strength of manhood and we're the party of strength and this is who we are and nobody's going to tell us what to do and they're the weakest PE we weakest people with a lack of moral fiber of any I've ever seen in the course of this they have I guess they have no sense of themselves or no sense of pride in their own thing they're willing to do whatever it takes I don't get what it gets them but I think at this point um and and maybe we'll talk about this thing in the next segment as well is that one of the benefits that Donald Trump has provided America is he's the great revealer and what Donald Trump has done in not only America as a whole and and revealed what we need to fix in our country and and all of the things we need to fix he's revealed people's true character indeed that's what fundamentally revealed he's revealed Bill Bar's character he's revealed Marco Rubio's character he's revealed all these people's fundamental true character and actually that's a benefit so we can see who they really are the parade of beta males here's Bill bar uh then versus now in that context I made it clear I did not agree with the idea of saying the election was stolen and putting out this stuff which I told the president was you're voting for someone who you believe tried to subvert the peaceful transfer of power that can't even achieve his own policies that lied about the election even after his attorney general told him that the election wasn't stolen and as the former chief law enforcement in this country you're going to vote for someone who is facing 88 criminal counts well look the 88 criminal counts a lot of those are in and I've said even if 10 of them are accurate the answer to the question is yes beta mail number two Lindsey Graham in 2016 he said if we nominate Trump we'll get destroyed and we deserve it here's him now if he is convicted you will still support him and votee for him absolutely I think what's going on with Donald Trump is weaponization of the law he's being prosecuted in Manhattan one of the deepest Blue State uh cities in the country and beta mail number three JD Vance he compared Donald Trump to Hitler in a text to his former roommate he wrote I go back and forth between thinking Trump might be a cynical a-hole like Nixon who wouldn't be that bad or he might be America's Hitler he is also called Trump Lo and an idiot and now here is JD Vance this past Sunday on Fox I was wrong I didn't think he would be a good president he was a great president uh that that's not about you know sinking to political degradation that's looking at reality and recognizing that Donald Trump was a success is this just that they were sort of always betas who were faking alpha or is it capitulation because they think he'll be an autocrat and they want to get uh you know his they want to supplicate themselves before Him in Advance because they're afraid of him and what he might do with his authority when he gets back in if he gets back in can I answer yes to both of those because I think sufficient being a beta male and that's who you always are is also one of the requirements of submitting to an autocrat and not standing up to him and so they basically are the same thing in the course of this I also think what it says is these people no matter what they have lectured other people on about America or faith or religion or whatever it have no core moral principles have zero core moral and that's what I we've discovered in this all the things they repeat out there for crowds and quoting the Bible and all the thing about being honest and truthful and all that is all a big lie it's NE there was never something they fundamentally believed they only said it because they thought it would benefit them politically and now in this case they're doing the exact same thing which is going along with Donald Trump because they think it's going to benefit him politically so yes to both your questions they are that but they have no moral s well they're also they're also beta females as well uh and and and I think the thing that people don't understand um is that Donald Trump despises these people he's he apparent reportedly is sick of Carri Lake already he he he doesn't respect any of these people he despises them because of their weakness and their capitulation really quick your thoughts your quick thoughts well I think he despises them the same way he despises his own voters absolutely his own voters he has no care about he would not hang out with them if he didn't wasn't at a crowd and all that he despises even though he constantly says he's their advocate he despises them he despises the elected officials and he despises the voters absolutely and we're going to talk about one more of them on the other side of the break Matthew dad is going to stick with us because somehow Christy gnome speaking of beta females is doubling down on her Alpha decision to kill her dog

Channel: MSNBC

Views: 52,125

Keywords: msnbc, MSNBC, Specials

Id: KMUYtgnjTuI

Length: 16min 9sec (969 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 30 2024