Scandal-plagued former President Donald Trump has been making headlines for weeks now regarding his less-than-mature behavior in the Manhattan courtroom, where he is currently on trial, facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign, in an effort to buy her silence about their alleged past sexual affair.
The topic most notably filling up the media cycle is Donald’s apparent proclivity for naps during the court proceedings.
Multiple on-site reporters have confirmed that the disgraced ex-president spends more time with his eyes closed than open in the courtroom, as a jury of his peers hears a slew of damning testimonies against him.
However, experts are now speaking out to say that Donald’s tendency to keep his eyes closed may have a little less to do with him being old and tired and a little more to do with him being petty, childish, and extremely defiant.
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NBC News reporter Vaughn Hillyard was one of the first to float the theory during a recent segment with MSNBC, where he said that Trump’s decision to do things like close his eyes in the courtroom is actually Donald’s attempt to send a clear, openly defiant message to anyone watching.
“The eyes. We come back to the eyes being shut for two minutes at a time,” Hillyard explained. “He would have his eyes shut this morning. Then he would open them quickly and mention something to his attorney, but then go back to his eyes shut. And, you know, I don’t know whether he’s sleeping or not. What was taking me aback was the defiance of the process.”
Hillyard went on to note that Donald is currently subject to a highly restrictive gag order that bars him from attacking witnesses, members of the court, or the families of court employees in this case — meaning Trump is forced to get his narcissistic kicks in some other way.
“He can’t stand up and speak out in his own defense in that courtroom unless he takes the stand himself,” he explained. “For him, keeping his eyes shut, almost, in a way, disregarding it. ‘I don’t care, about these proceedings,’ with the jury right there, was his act of defiance.”
New York Times reporter Susanne Craig echoed similar sentiment, noting that she has been on-site in the Manhattan courtroom every single day of the trial, and while it’s been painfully clear that the former president was truly asleep at some points, there were many others where he’s merely closing his eyes simply because he can.
“It’s not one day this happened. It is every day for 80 to 90% of the court proceedings, he has his eyes closed,” she explained. “He will nod off, but that’s not what’s going on. His eyes are closed. I think it is an act of defiance to send a message. The jury is picking up on something there, but he doesn’t care.”
And to think, this is the same man that some people want running this country.
You can watch the MSNBC discussion here:
Featured image via screen capture
