“Cranking Out Mean Tweets” Trumps Find Humor Amidst Serious Deliberations
As the jury spent over four hours deliberating on Wednesday in the hush money trial of former President Donald Trump, Trump and his son, Donald Trump Jr., found a moment of levity, creating a TikTok video in a back room of the Manhattan courthouse. The short 14-second clip captured them brainstorming their next “mean tweet.”
“Hey guys, I’m with your favorite president,” Trump Jr. began, sharing the frame with his father. “We’re cranking out a couple of mean tweets at the courthouse,” he continued his tone light and jesting. In the video, the 45-year-old then prompted his father, asking, “Why don’t you read that last one?” To which the elder Trump replied, “No, I think I’m going to put it out instead of reading it.”
He also took a moment to express pride in his son’s social media prowess, stating, “I know my son’s doing very well on social media. I’m proud of him.” Trump Jr. wrapped up the TikTok by promising his followers, “Stay tuned it’ll be a doozy.”
This moment of humor came amidst the gravity of a criminal trial where Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records connected to a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Despite the serious implications of the trial, the father and son duo managed to indulge in light-heartedness, sharing Diet Coke and chocolates in a plain courthouse meeting room, according to The Daily Mail.
The implications of the jury’s decision are significant. A guilty verdict would be historic, marking the first criminal conviction of a former U.S. president, potentially reshaping Trump’s aspirations for the 2024 presidential run. Conversely, an acquittal could significantly boost his political image and campaign momentum.
As deliberations continued into the night, the jury requested to rehear crucial evidence, including a 2016 Trump Tower meeting recording where a “capture and kill” strategy to suppress negative stories was allegedly discussed, and testimony from David Pecker, a former National Enquirer publisher implicated in the hush money transactions, as per MSN.
Trump has consistently denied any affair with Daniels, asserting that the payments were for legal services to protect his family. Prosecutors, however, argue that these were part of an illicit scheme to influence the election’s outcome. Amid these high stakes, Trump and his team awaited the verdict from the rather ordinary confines of the courthouse’s 15th floor, a stark contrast to his usual luxurious Manhattan settings.