SARAH VINE: Every second of Trump's Messiah moment was pure box office

SARAH VINE: Every second of Trump’s Messiah moment was pure box office. But win or lose, this is a tragedy for America

The crazies were out in force yesterday, as those at both ends of America’s political spectrum came together outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse where former President Trump was due to be arraigned.

They’d been congregating since dawn, banging their respective drums and displaying the typical ‘sophistication’ of the modern political activist.

One Trump superfan, complete with MAGA hat and matching red lipstick, launched herself at an anti-Trump banner, screaming, ‘I have Covid!’ in the face of anyone who got in her way. 

Another declared ‘F**k white people’, another ‘F*** you, you white trash Nazi’, while a Fox reporter came under attack from a mob of furious Lefties.

Entirely predictably, The Donald kept his audience waiting. As the world tuned into the entrance to Trump Tower, precisely nothing happened — for a long time.

The crazies were out in force yesterday, as those at both ends of America’s political spectrum came together outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse where former President Trump was due to be arraigned

Whatever you think of yesterday’s events and the decision by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to formally indict Donald Trump (centre) with criminal charges relating to payment of hush money to the porn star Stormy Daniels, there’s one person who will be loving every second of it: Trump himself

Helicopters buzzed overhead; ordinary New Yorkers went about their business with an air of studied nonchalance; an ambulance waited on standby. 

A group of security men shared a joke. Someone stifled a yawn. A door opened! Was it him? No. A couple of guys appeared and assumed the familiar legs-wide, hands-clasped stance of security people, ears adorned with curly wires.

Then, almost casually — as though just popping out for a burger — out he came through the revolving golden doors. Familiar red tie, jaw set firm, The Don paused briefly to raise a fist in solidarity with his clamouring fans before slipping into a blacked-out SUV.

Excitement mounted as the motorcade moved off, pursued by helicopters, gliding unencumbered by traffic through the New York streets. Outside the court, bristling with cameras and reporters, supporters and detractors alike waited for their man. 

It took just minutes for him to reach his destination; another wave, this time rather more stony-faced and then a weary trudge towards the entrance to the courthouse.

Post-arrest he was on the move again — careful to show an uncuffed hand by pushing open the door to the courtroom himself — before, finally, the money shot: a still photograph of Trump sitting in court surrounded by his lawyers. 

A distant, solemn look was in his eyes, as though he was weighed down by the sorrow of his own tragedy.

We saw less than a minute of him — and every second was pure box office. 

Whatever you think of yesterday’s events and the decision by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to formally indict Donald Trump with criminal charges relating to payment of hush money to the porn star Stormy Daniels, there’s one person who will be loving every second of it: Trump himself. 

Indeed, if one were — like so many of his supporters — a conspiracy theorist, one might even surmise that Trump had cooked up the whole thing as a way of turning himself into a martyr at the hands of the wicked Democrats.

After all, for a man as savvy as him to make such a seemingly schoolboy error in reimbursing his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, for the $130,000 advanced to Ms Daniels (right) in the form of several separate payments for ‘legal fees’ — thus giving the prosecution grounds to accuse him of falsifying business records –— does seem rather odd

After all, for a man as savvy as him to make such a seemingly schoolboy error in reimbursing his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, for the $130,000 advanced to Ms Daniels in the form of several separate payments for ‘legal fees’ — thus giving the prosecution grounds to accuse him of falsifying business records –— does seem rather odd.

Trump is many things –— vain, reckless, paranoid — but he’s not stupid and he’s experienced enough in business to know that kind of thing is a no-no. 

Perhaps he did it all on purpose, knowing that sooner or later it would land him in court, knowing that Bragg — a staunch Democrat who has made no secret of loathing Trump — would take the bait. 

Then Trump would have his Messiah moment, paraded past screaming crowds to a show trial, his loyal disciples ready to tear down the temples of democracy in order to free their saviour.

If that were the case, I suppose that would make Ms Daniels a sort of 21st-century Mary Magdalene. Bonkers, of course, but then this is Donald Trump we’re talking about.

Anything is possible. Especially since his advisers will have clocked the reputational value of a good, televised trial from recent performances by Gwyneth Paltrow and Johnny Depp.

One thing I do know, though, is this: we are in uncharted territory. Not just because this is the first time in American history that a president has been indicted on criminal charges; but also because a politician has never before harnessed the unhinged and unpredictable power of social media in quite the same way as Trump.

For someone so quick to decry ‘fake news’, he is a character who thrives online, whose armies of supporters range from self-styled Shamans to QAnon fantasists who live out their lives in front of flickering screens, lost in the depths of their own paranoia. 

And, as we saw with the infamous storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, he knows how to summon a mob, to grasp the power of a social media pile-on and make it flesh.

Then Trump would have his Messiah moment, paraded past screaming crowds to a show trial, his loyal disciples ready to tear down the temples of democracy in order to free their saviour

Having spent an evening in his orbit, I have to say there is undeniably something sinister about him. In 2018, I was lucky enough to be invited to the state banquet in honour of his and the First Lady’s visit to Britain, in the presence of the late Queen.

It was an extraordinary occasion for a number of reasons, not least the presence of the extended Trump clan, including his youngest daughter Tiffany and his eldest, Ivanka, along with her (decidedly creepy) husband Jared Kushner.

Unlike the current U.S. President, Joe Biden, who has reportedly turned down an invitation to the Coronation, Trump was delighted to be in the presence of royalty.

There was a definite sense that white tie and tails were where he felt he belonged and that being feted in such a way at the palace was something that had long been on his bucket list.

He was bursting with pride, his ego radiating around the room like some giant orange sun.

But there was nothing warm about his presence. He showed no interest in anything other than himself, no deference for anyone or anything — not even the Queen or his surroundings.

He gave the distinct impression that he thought it was all — including Her Majesty — purely for his benefit. It was about him, The Donald. That is where Trump’s ambition begins and ends, at himself.

And the only reason he wants to be America’s next president is because being POTUS means he’s the most famous man on the planet, and therefore has the full attention of the entire globe, all day, every day.

Nothing less, you see, will feed his ego’s insatiable appetite.

That’s it. That’s really all there is to Donald Trump. That’s why after four years in office he’s still not even slightly interested in politics, as I discovered when I tried to engage him on the subject. There’s only one topic of conversation for Trump — and that’s Trump.

So: none of this will matter to him. Whether he is found guilty or not won’t make any difference: the important thing is that all eyes will be on him, that he will be at the epicentre of the drama.

Which, win or lose, is a tragedy for the American people –— and for the Republican Party.

Because that’s not what they need right now. America needs a person of substance, not a perma-tanned empty vessel like Trump (or, for that matter, a doddery old Leftie in thrall to virtue-signalling and gesture politics like Biden).

Someone like Ron DeSantis (dubbed ‘DeSanctimonious’ by Trump, who recognises him as a threat), a man who — as one keen observer of American politics put it to me recently — is part Ronald Reagan, part Rishi Sunak with a smattering of Kemi Badenoch. In other words, authentically Right of Centre with a broad social appeal and an ability to get things done.

But while DeSantis had been gaining ground, yesterday’s events have somewhat eclipsed him.

Although he has a narrow lead over Trump in his own state of Florida, where he is Governor, senior Republicans have felt compelled to lend their support to Trump in response to what they see as a tribal attack on one of their own.

And that’s the problem with this indictment: it actually strengthens Trump’s case.

And however satisfying it might be to see Trump brought to book (and I, for one, would relish that outcome), with his giant ego dominating every news bulletin and headline, any genuine Republican candidate is going to find themselves howling into an orange hurricane.

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