The gag order is back

Donald Trump’s gag order has now been reinstated in his New York civil fraud trial. That’s no surprise. When the appeals court temporarily stayed the gag order to hear Trump’s appeal, it didn’t mean he’d won. This stuff is just procedure. Trump continues to lose on all fronts.

I think there’s still too much of a focus (from the media and on social media) on Trump’s gag orders. The lack of a gag order isn’t going to make Trump magically able to get away with it all. And the presence of a gag order, while welcome, isn’t going to take Trump down unless he’s stupid enough to keep escalating his rhetoric to the point that his bail is revoked.

During a lengthy and complex process such as a criminal trial, there’s a tendency by outside observers to latch onto one aspect (in this instance a gag order) simply because it keeps finding its way into headlines, and treat it as if it’s the whole story, when in fact it’s a mere sideshow. Trump’s trials and convictions, not his gag orders, continue to be the story.