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Donald Trump may "regret" calls for cameras to be allowed into the courtroom for his upcoming federal election trial if doing so exposes his lack of defense to supporters, according to his niece.
Mary Trump, author, podcast host and frequent critic of the former president, appeared on MSNBC's The Katie Phang Show to discuss her uncle's ongoing legal issues, including being indicted in Georgia under Fulton County DA Fani Willis' election interference probe, and pleading not guilty to four charges under Special Counsel Jack Smith's January 6 investigation.
During the interview, Mary Trump was asked what impact the fact that the Georgia trial involving Donald Trump and the 18 other defendants could be televised could have on proceedings. State law requires that cameras be allowed in courtrooms in Georgia during judicial proceedings, with the judge's approval, in order to provide greater transparency.
In response, Mary Trump suggested that supporters of the former president may see the Republican struggle to "spin away" the allegations against him during a televised trial. Mary Trump also said that the former president and his legal team may regret asking for the federal election trial, which Smith's office is requesting begin in January 2024, be televised.
"It's going to have an enormous impact, because even for people who are his supporters and who think that this is a miscarriage of justice, this will be must-see TV," Mary Trump said.
"Donald has always told them not to believe their lying eyes, only to believe him. However, when he's the one they're looking at, it's going to be very difficult for him to spin away from what's actually happening in front of our eyes.
"It's going to be monumentally important that there be cameras at the very least in the Fulton County courtroom," Mary Trump added.
"And I also think that it's going to be something that Donald himself is going to regret. His legal team has asked for cameras in the federal courtroom, and I think pretty quickly they're going to find out that that's really not something they wanted after all."
In July, John Lauro, an attorney for the former president, backed calls for cameras to be allowed into a federal courtroom to broadcast Donald Trump's trial.
"I would hope that the Department of Justice would join in that effort so that we can take the curtain away and all Americans can see what's happening," Lauro told Fox News. Lauro has been contacted for comment via email.
Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding, obstructing a congressional proceeding and conspiracy against rights as part of the probe into attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Veteran media consultant Brad Adgate previously told Newsweek that a televised trial in Georgia involving the former president would surely be a ratings hit.
"There's gonna be an awful lot of coverage," he said. "The initial burst will do something almost like a Super Bowl in terms of views.
"The most-watched political event was the first Hillary Clinton-Donald Trump debate in 2016, which was 84 million [views]," Adgate added. "This will be televised by a dozen TV networks, not including streaming.
"At least the opening day will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 million."
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, and Florida ... Read more