NEW YORK — It was about 2:30 pm on Monday afternoon when the first 96 potential jurors entered a drab courtroom in lower Manhattan to meet the world’s most famous defendant: donald trump.
Some craned their necks to see, an indication of the undeniable power of Trump’s celebrity.
But not long after, more than 50 of those same potential jurors — hailing from one of the most liberal counties in the country — were dismissed because they said they could not be impartial toward the 45th president.
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The start of the first criminal trial of a former US president drew intense security, noisy demonstrations and suffocating media coverage to a grim New York courtroom that will be the unlikely center of American politics for the next six weeks.
And if the first day is any indication, the trial could very well be a surreal experience, juxtaposing the mundane-sounding criminal charges — falsifying business records — against the potentially seismic effect it could have on the presidential race.
On Monday, both the dramatic and the mundane were on full display, as the former president’s supporters made their voices heard, shouting through a bullhorn that Trump “did nothing wrong” and attacking the family of the judge. case, Juan M. Merchan. .
Despite the highly charged atmosphere, Trump, sitting in the 15th-floor courtroom, at one point appeared to doze off.
Jury selection for the day didn’t begin until mid-afternoon, but cable TV news aired before dawn. Anti-Trump protesters also woke up early, carrying a series of hand-painted signs, some of which insulted the former president as a “loser,” repurposing one of Trump’s favorite insults.
Others highlighted the frustration of liberals and Democrats who have questioned Trump’s ability to escape trial so far despite facing four criminal charges.
“Convict Trump now,” one sign read.
Viewers came from other cities and states, including Tim Smith of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, who displayed his five-panel work “The Kraken,” about the Trump era after the 2020 election. Another played the flute atop a park bench. .
A truck adorned with Trump flags drove by, while protesters and counterprotesters were locked in a call and response at Collect Pond Park across from the courthouse, with one side chanting “No one is above the law” and the other yelling back “Trump is innocent!”
The TV crews, who arrived from all over the world and all over the city, took it all in. Right-wing activist Laura Loomer, known for her provocative tactics, ridiculed “fake news media freaks.” Andrew Giuliani, son of Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s former lawyer and mayor of New York, took the horn, criticizing the case as weak and politically motivated.
“Joe Biden wouldn’t even take this case,” said Andrew Giuliani.
For his part, Trump appeared confident as he left Trump Tower on Monday morning, waving to a group of fans and leaving in a motorcade that would disrupt traffic throughout lower Manhattan. (And growl again, of course, when he goes off to sleep.)
Before entering the courtroom, Trump condemned what he called “political persecution,” calling it “an attack on America.” Once inside, Trump glowered at prosecutors and appeared to laugh when one of his social media posts was read aloud. In a dark blue suit and red tie, he looked oddly out of place in a drab courtroom that, with its wood paneling and fluorescent lights, is more “Fargo” than Mar-a-Lago.
Still, he was involved early on, talking to lawyers, passing notes to his lead lawyer, Todd Blanche, and looking closely at Merchan.
Then, he closed his eyes and seemed to fall asleep briefly, his chin tucked into his chest. He did not react to his lawyer’s notes before appearing to wake up suddenly.
Many of Merchan’s rulings on Monday displeased the former president, including the judge’s delay in deciding whether Trump could miss a day in court to attend his son Barron’s graduation in May.
Merchan also rejected a request that Trump be allowed to skip court to attend next week’s Supreme Court arguments over his claims of near-complete immunity — a decision that drew the former president’s ire.
“I can’t go to my son’s graduation, or I can’t go to the Supreme Court of the United States,” Trump said, adding that he wouldn’t be able to campaign as regularly as he would like because he would be in court. “This is electoral interference.”
Jury selection, which finally began after the judge and attorneys dealt with hours of other business, could last a week or more: Just 11 potential jurors were interviewed on Monday, with the process scheduled to begin again the morning of Tuesday.
Robert Gerhorsan, 69, of the West Village, was fired by Merchan because Gerhorsan’s son’s wedding in Seattle in June could conflict with the trial. But he said the fact that Trump is facing a jury, for better or worse, is proof that the system works.
“No one is being treated special,” he said, adding that he loved “that no one is above the law.”
For his part, Trump sat through all seven hours of Monday — minus the lunch break and however many seconds he may have slept — without any of the outbursts that occurred during other trials in which he was involved. day.
But later in the day, Trump launched a fundraising pitch via email.
“I just left Biden’s kangaroo court!” it said, although Trump hadn’t actually stormed out. “What I was FORCED to endure would make any patriotic American SICK.”
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