Former President Donald Trump is pushing the limits of the perspective that there's no such thing as bad publicity as he sits glowering in court in his ongoing hush-money trial.
Trump in the past has profited from an an exceptional ability to capitalize on negative media since it supports his narrative that he is picked on by the establishment and is the target of a "weaponized" judicial system.
Even as he faces 88 felony charges across four different criminal cases and rages about it, Trump also aims to project a presidential image by engaging with international and U.S. leaders.
So far he's walking a tightrope, and it remains to be seen where he'll end up.
While he's missing out on campaigning, he's grabbing every opportunity during his trial to complain to reporters outside the courtroom and getting widespread media coverage for it.
He's also using his social media platform Truth Social to rage about the "witch hunt" against him in the New York trial where he's facing criminal charges for allegedly falsifying business records in an attempt to cover up a hush-money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
"No campaign would want to have their candidate in the courtroom instead of with voters on the campaign trail, but I also think they're smart to maximize their moments of support in front of the camera during the trial," Republican consultant Jeanette Hoffman told Reuters.
But the trial is, inevitably, draining time from his campaigning, and the long hours in the courtroom are negatively affecting his mood, notes the Washington Post. "The phrase around here is 'the process is the punishment,'" a source close to Trump told the newspaper.
Most Americans — 58% — believe the charges against Trump are serious, according to a recent New York Times/Siena Poll.
A CNN poll found that 64% of those surveyed think Trump is not being treated like other defendants in the legal system — with people split between whether he's being treated more harshly or more leniently
But fewer than 3 in 10 independents and moderates — a key group in the presidential election —buy that Trump has been treated more harshly, the poll found.
In addition to trial on the charges, details about Trump's alleged media and political schemes and his alleged affairs with Daniels and Karen McDougal while married to Melania, may not play well with his supporters, which include a mass of evangelicals.
His frowning comments and other comportant at the trial — where he has been scolding by Judge Juan Merchan for his behavior — may also be off-putting to his backers.
Trump has not held had a campaign rally since the trial started, but two are scheduled for next week in the battleground states of Michigan and Wisconsin.
