Donald Trump is next

Months ago, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was indicted and arrested on serious criminal charges. He was subsequently released on bail. It brought about the usual round of “oh no he’s gotten away with it all” responses from angry observers who don’t really understand or care how the system works. But he was given specific conditions for his release, and after he was caught in a pattern of violating those terms, he was thrown in jail yesterday.

The loss of Bankman-Fried’s freedom didn’t happen immediately. It didn’t happen because of one infraction. But he kept breaking the rules and now he’s in a cage because of it. If Donald Trump keeps up his pretrial antics, the same will happen to him.

Sam Bankman-Fried didn’t fall through an instant trap door upon his arrest. Neither did Donald Trump. But when criminal defendants exhibit a pattern of violating the terms of their bail, they get locked up until their trial. It’s simply how the system works. For Trump, it’s just a matter of how painful he wants this to be, and how quickly he wants to find out what prison food tastes like.