Finishing my latest interview series, with my next one currently scheduled to begin on May 11th, in Lansing, Michigan, I highlighted a recurring theme on former President Trump's indictment that is definitely prevalent not only in Michigan, but also across our Republic - the Democrats are now attempting to elect their opponents. This is where our earlier post highlighting the benefits of Final Five comes into play, as not only would this end divisions within politcal parties, but bar Democrats and others from picking their opponents and subverting the true will of the voters. Speaking of bar, I also highlighted how even former Attorney General Bill Barr, who has become a frequent critic of Trump, said that this is a weak case, as well as how, despite the common knowledge of how vocal Trump can be, that no gag order was put on him for this case.
However, at the end of the day, the big question behind this case is this - does this help or hurt Trump's 2024 aspirations both in the primary and general election? Only time will tell.
To learn more about TBOR Action's efforts on topics including election integrity, please click here.
The following transcript from this interview is presented in its entirety with minor edits:
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Trump, Jury, Independents, Joe Biden, Republican, indict, general election.
SPEAKERS
TBORA President John Pudner and Mike Austin.
Mike Austin 00:01
Big news yesterday, and it is the big thing people are going to be talking about after you get past the weather yesterday...a historical day; Donald Trump is the first former President ever, as well as the first president to be impeached twice, to be criminally indicted, and the media circus...this as a whole is a circus in general. It occurred yesterday and then he gave remarks at Mar-a-Lago. Joining us now to talk about that now and moving forward is the President of Take Back Our Republic Action, a Bush 2000 aide, and an analyst and a commentator, John Pudner. John, it's good to have you on Your Morning Wake-Up. What do you think of last night? Do you watch that?
John Pudner 00:47
Well, I think it was what we expected it would look like; a political rally. You certainly have to convey moral indignation in situations that fall short of this one, so I don't think any big surprises last night, but just shocked that this could happen in America was the theme, and I think that is about what we expected.
Mike Austin 01:05
Yeah, there wasn't anything, it was just odd to watch. It's just felt a little weird. It was like wearing the shoe on the wrong foot or somebody else's pants, you know what I mean? Yesterday, it just didn't feel right.
John Pudner 01:20
Yeah, it was interesting. The whole political dynamic - and obviously, when you're dealing with an indictment, it's more than just politics - but I think the Democrats feel like this elevates Trump and that they get to pick their opponent because it makes him the nominee and weakens him in the general. Now, we'll see if their calculus is right, but yeah, that seems to be a reoccurring theme is the Democrats are figuring out ways to elect their own opponent before the general election. They do it a lot of ways, but boy, this is the big gamble.
Mike Austin 01:57
It really is, and I've said this before, everything they throw at the guy ends up helping him and his base, and I think this is going to happen this time around as well. Now, there was no gag order yesterday, so we're gonna hear a whole bunch from Mr. Trump, are we?
John Pudner 02:16
Yes, and that was maybe the most interesting decision because, it's weird to envision if Trump would abide by a gag order, but then when it wasn't given, so we know what's happening now. That was an interesting decision yesterday not to put a gag order on the case.
Mike Austin 02:34
34 counts all stemming from basically the same thing. I was shocked at how many of those there are. But, none of them were misdemeanors, and some of the pundits said that at least some of these are going to be just misdemeanors.
John Pudner 02:58
That's quite a decision the prosecutors made. I'll trust Bill Barr to digest these more than myself, but I mean, he just came out and said these were extremely weak. I mean, this is the reason the Justice Department has not pursued any of these, so I'll count on him to doing all of our legal proofreading for us and trust when he says this looks like very weak.
Mike Austin 03:18
So, what's this gonna look like moving forward? The first thing they're gonna do, I think, is try and get this thrown out, are they not?
John Pudner 03:25
Certainly, but this is the problem. You're supposed to have cases heard by a jury of peers, and obviously, you're picking New York City to have this case, and I understand there are legal reasons for that, but nonetheless, I don't think anyone thinks Donald Trump is going to get even hand if this does go all the way, so they'll certainly try to get thrown out.
Mike Austin 03:51
And speaking of the jury, I don't know how you pick a jury for something like this. Have you ever done jury duty, John?
John Pudner 04:00
I did once, so I wish everyone could do it once, but that was a different perspective.
Mike Austin 04:05
People knock on jury duty. but as soon as they get to what you do for a living, and you're in the media and stuff, they kind of you kind of get put off to the side. But, the thing is, it's an honor to serve on a jury. The problem with this one is I don't know how you find somebody who's impartial? Everybody's got an opinion on it.
John Pudner 04:30
That's right, and both sides get divorced, strike certain jurors until you really get to the middle, but what's the middle in Manhattan regarding your impressions of Trump? You know, that's a pretty defined middle.
Mike Austin 04:45
Talking with John Pudner about the whole thing yesterday and the Mar-A-Lago. As you said, it was basically a political rally last night. How do you pick people to be in there in that room? Was a lottery drawn?
John Pudner 04:58
I don't know. They've done a lot of advertising, and once you're on a text or email list, you're constantly getting texts from Trump saying he wants to see you at Mar-a-Lago, so they're always generating lists of people that want to come there for various events.
Mike Austin 05:14
And it's just a personal thing for me, but tell me, I don't think you could tell Donald Trump anything about his public persona, or how to act, but someone needs to work with him on his body language. When he's given these speeches, he does that twisting thing, you know? Where he twists one shoulder? That's a little off-putting. Is it just me?
John Pudner 05:43
I wouldn't normally say this, but Trump has so studied camera angles, it's all watched, I might give him the benefit of the doubt on that one. The guy did promote the Trump name pretty effectively, and people will tell you when you go in, he'll tell his media experts which angles the cameras should be at, so I'm just gonna assume he's got some reason to say that works.
Mike Austin 06:06
Well, John, we're up on time. We're gonna get to some actual news and stuff and get into it real deep here, but I appreciate it. We'll stay in touch because it's not going to be over in a long time. John Pudner, our good friend, we'll talk later.
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