“Watching the Expression on Your Face When Sentenced Will Be Priceless”: Trump Demands Federal Election Interference Case Be Televised

William FurneyNov 15, 2023

Minute Read

Former president and reality TV star Donald Trump wants to make a return to television — only this time in a federal courtroom where he will be fighting to avoid being imprisoned over election-interference charges.

Media Push for Televising

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Trump’s request comes amid calls from media outlets to allow the historic proceedings, due to start in March next year, to be shown live on television so the public has a direct window into what are certain to be nationally and globally captivating events.

Democratic ‘Witch Hunt’

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Speaking at a rally in Claremont, New Hampshire, Trump — star of reality show The Apprentice — continued his defense against an indictment on election-interference charges, claiming they are a “politically motivated witch hunt” by Democrats trying to thwart his 2024 presidential run.

Need for ‘Sunlight’

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Trump told the New Hampshire crowd: “I want this trial to be seen by everybody in the world. The prosecution wishes to continue this travesty in darkness and I want sunlight.”

Dozens of Charges

Trump, 77, is facing dozens of criminal charges under the indictment, which alleges that he tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election he lost to Joe Biden and prevent the peaceful transfer of power. A separate, related case is scheduled for trial in Georgia, and Trump has also been indicted for alleged hush money payments and allegedly keeping and refusing to return sensitive government documents. The ex-president is currently on trial in New York, in a civil fraud case where the judge has already ruled that wrongdoing took place.

Transparency Demand

Trump’s legal team said in a written petition to US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the election-interference case, that the American people should be able to see exactly what would transpire in the courtroom.

‘Dreamt-Up Charade’

Trump’s lawyers wrote that “President Trump absolutely agrees, and in fact demands, that these proceedings should be fully televised so that the American public can see firsthand that this case, just like others, is nothing more than a dreamt-up unconstitutional charade that should never be allowed to happen again.”

TV Broadcasts Banned

Live broadcasts of federal court proceedings are not allowed, because, the government argues, they could prejudice subsequent legal actions like appeals, potentially causing problems with witnesses who had appeared on camera. Photography is also banned.

Arguments for Televising

Media organizations including NBC News and The Associated Press wrote to Judge Chutkan to argue that the historic nature of the Trump election-interference case meant that the public should be allowed to view the proceedings. They also argued there was a democratic need for the public to watch the trial because it was based on the defendant’s attempts to take away their votes.

2020 Vote Beliefs

The news outlets said that, based on recent polling, “tens of millions of people” still hold the view that the 2020 presidential election was “decided by fraud.”

‘Unique Moment in History’

NBC News editorial chief Rebecca Blumenstein said in the outlets’ petition to Judge Chutkan that “[i]t would be a great loss if future generations of Americans were forever deprived of being able to access and view the events of this trial even years after the verdict, which would immeasurably improve the ability of future journalists and historians to retell accurately and meaningfully analyze this unique chapter of American history.”

Public Reaction

People had varied views of Trump’s call for his trial to be shown live on TV, with one person, Bradley Tindall, writing on X (formerly Twitter): “They’ll never allow it. It’s gratifying how Trump turns everything they try to do against him right back onto them, thus increasing their fear, desperation and sloppiness.”

Trump ‘Bluffing’

Another person said on X: “He is totally bluffing cuz he knows it will not be televised. But I hope they call his bluff; it would be freaking hilarious.”

‘Facial Expression’

Someone else on X, going by the name boxhead, said they welcomed televising of Trump’s trial.

“Please. Watching the expression on your face when sentenced will be priceless,” they said.

Trump the GOP Favorite

Most registered Republican voters back Trump as their candidate for the 2024 presidential election, according to national polling that gives him around a 50-point lead over rivals including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

2024 Primaries

Candidates will be chosen by Republican and Democratic voters in primaries early next year. President Biden, 80, is polling around 70 percent and has almost no competition for the Democratic nomination making him the likely choice — and potentially setting the stage for a rerun of the 2020 election between both men.