’Twas the Darkest and Stormiest Night

The dangers of Donald Trump’s magical thinking.

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Former President Donald Trump arrives for an arraignment hearing on April 4, 2023, in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Friend, 

I’m writing you this “news”letter as I drive home to Washington, D.C. Okay, technically I’ve pulled over, but you know what I mean. 

I put it this way because yesterday, I got an email from Donald Trump that begins this way:

Friend,

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Comments (475)
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  1. Kenneth.Parsigian

    What exactly do you mean by this line: "They’re just arguing that none of this amounts to the sort of felonious activity worthy of indicting a former president. And I think they’re right!" Prosecutors absolutely shouldn't indict because he is a former President. But are you seriously suggesting there should be a higher bar for indicting a former President? Not terribly consistent with the rule of law. Cohen was prosecuted for his role in the scheme and served time. As Pat Frey noted in the Dispatch, regular people have been indicted for falsifying business records--he gives the example of Richard Brega, who used straw donors to funnel $40K in campaign contributions to a county executive's campaign. Brega was charged with 10 felony counts, one for each false entry. Sound familiar? There are perfectly fine arguments for exercising prosecutorial discretion in a case like this. But the notion that there should be a higher bar for an ex-Prez is decidely not one of them. The law should treat him as it would anyone else. No better and no worse.

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  2. Mathias

    I was so sad, Jonah, to see that you had to spend Passover night driving to DC, even if it was driving home. That's not something I'd wish on anyone. (Of course, neither is living in DC, but that's another matter.)

    Anyway, we missed you at the seder table this year! Hopefully we'll see you next year... in Jerusalem?

    In the meantime, eat some matzah, it's good for what ails you. Chag Sameyach (Happy holiday).

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  3. Lee Rone

    Trump's actions are deemed as tax fraud because he bribed his mistress, then created phony financial records in order to disguise the bribe, and then submitted those phony financial records to the IRS. The fake financial records are the first fraud and the fake IRS tax statements are the second fraud. The first fraud is punishable up to one year in prison and the second fraud is the felony,

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    Michael Dan Martin

    I am with you 99% of the way, Mr. Goldberg. True, the indictment has no “inherent” magical properties because there are no such things as inherent magical properties. But for magical thinking to work, magical properties need only be perceived. For too many, the fact that Trump has been indicted makes him guilty whether or not he wins in court.

    There is also dyadism, a close cousin to magical thinking, which means that you are what most people think you are. In a fully dyadic society even you would believe you are what you are perceived to be. We aren’t there, of course, although traces of that sort of thinking are evident, but it is not hard to see that Bragg’s indictment could be motivated more by a desire to reinforce a negative perception of Trump than by an exercise of blind justice.

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  5. Lee Rone

    Jonah, I wish you could explain why Dan Henninger, who I adored and respected for decades, is defending Trump. In fact, I would love to see him come onto The Dispatch and be interviewed by you or Steve.

    His column this week implied that the Trump's falsifying financial records and using them to commit tax fraud was no big deal.

    He suggested that the Democrats don't intend to put Trump in prison but instead want Republicans to rally around Trump as a result of the charges, thereby making Trump the nominee rather than DeSantis.

    Even if that's true, how could someone like Dan consider fake financial records and tax fraud to be inconsequential? If you could interview him, maybe we could get an explanation.

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      Michael Dan Martin

      How did Trump commit tax fraud? Whether he paid the money to Cohen as reimbursement or as legal fees, it is still an expense to him, isn’t it? Or would you say that paying for a non-disclosure agreement can’t be considered a legitimate expense and therefore can’t be used to offset income and reduce taxes owed? I am not sure about this, just want to clarify the situation.

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      LVD Reader

      I didn't take Henninger's column (and many other right and left of center columnists this past week) as absolving Trump of wrongdoing. The general consensus seems to be that it is a legally weak case that lacks both jurisdiction and merit in relation to innumerable comparable infractions that are not prosecuted and which also attempts to build a felony case by breaking one crime into many counts which are lacking in a felonious link to the misdemeanor charges. He and others are basically making the case that the Trump case is politically motivated and a horrible precedent for the health of our body politic. I think that's a very defensible point of view and is not equivalent to a defense of Trump. It's a matter of making distinctions that matter.

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  6. Stevewinn56

    Hi, Jonah,
    Great fan of your work.
    But I must take issue with you on one point.
    I grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, and can attest that Arkansas - across the river - is indeed made pimento cheese.
    Glad to offer a mild corrective.
    Cordially,

    Steve W

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    1. CatRudolph

      I spent part of each childhood summer in Tahlequah, Oklahoma , not far from the Arkansas line. I can attest that while Arkansas is not, in fact made of pimento cheese, Arkansans eat a ridiculous amount of the stuff, so it is easy to mistake the drips on the ground for soil substrate. They put it on Ritz crackers and offer it with sweet tea. Frightful!

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  7. Kinneyde32

    While Jonah is correct that Trump Republicans typically take extreme positions that are obviously ludicrous, they view that as a feature and not a bug. You can point out the factual and logical flaws in their views but in my experience, these people are oblivious to evidence and logic. Unfortunately,the ssame is true of the extreme left. Hopefully, there are enough "adults in the room" to keep the situation manageable. I miss the old Republican party which at least paid lip service to principle. I recall several years ago while living in Virginia when the Republicans had a legislative majority. During the legislative session, a number of Democrats were absent while attending a caucus of some sort. A group of Republican legislators urged the Speaker, William Howell, to convene the session because they would have a quorum with a super majority and could pass a number long-desired measures. He refused. We need more people like that.

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    Rlritt

    Yes, some people can't handle change. And surprisingly, you would think older people would be wiser and would be immune to the BS.

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  9. Runyan.Jason

    I have a strang suspicion that Bragg knows this indictment is nonsense, but went through with it because he

    1. Wanted to say he fulfilled his campaign promise
    2. Is setting a trap for D.T.

    He knows how Trump and his podpeople that used to be human beings will react . I believe he will be able to take every threat to him and the judge and their families (including the powder sent to his office), and go after him for riling up people and causing violence, just like on January 6. That is what I think his REAL goal is. The judge already warned him about the rhetoric, which opened him up for more charges if something happens.

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  10. Jamesfrey2001

    Jonah, I don't know if I should credit you, but whoever has been writing your headlines lately has been on a roll! Thanks for making me laugh at a time when it's not always easy to keep my sense of humor in tact. Excellent piece as always.

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