Trump's Been Preparing for Televised Trial for Decades

Former President Donald Trump's indictment in Georgia is setting the stage for a possible televised trial that will allow Americans to watch his legal proceedings play out at home, but it could be welcome news for the 2024 GOP front-runner.

Trump was indicted for the fourth time on Monday night after a grand jury in Fulton County charged the former president and 18 other co-defendants with violating the state's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act through efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Though not the first criminal case against Trump, this case is likely to be the only one that will allow cameras into the courtroom.

"Televised court cases are the ultimate reality TV—and Donald Trump, above else, is a reality TV star," James Haggerty, communications consultant specializing in high-profile litigation, told Newsweek. "He's a master of the medium ... Trump has been playing this game since the 1980s, and he's good at it."

He added that the only thing that could hurt Trump's image is if he were to appear the way that he's cast President Joe Biden: "old, confused or halting."

The decision of whether to televise the trial will ultimately be left up to the judge, but requests from media organizations are almost always granted. A 2018 order from the Georgia Supreme Court called open courtrooms an "indispensable element" of an effective judicial system and made it court policy to promote access.

"There will be some effort to move it to federal court where there are no cameras, but if it stays in state court, given this region, it's likely the judge will allow it to be televised," Mark R. Weaver, an Ohio-based crisis communications expert, told Newsweek.

Jurors are instructed by the courts to focus on the witnesses who take the stand and the evidence at hand, but Americans who are watching at home may be glued to the image of a former president. Whether that will push Trump even further ahead of the GOP field or push Republicans to abandon him remains to be seen.

Defendants are often told by their attorneys to appear as someone who has been wrongly accused. Weaver, who has two decades of experience as a criminal prosecutor, said defendants are warned that juries notice the smallest details of behavior, from a scowl to a head shake. But Haggerty said the real challenge will be for District Attorney Fani Willis' team.

"Yes, the prosecution could score points by putting the former president on the defensive, but I don't think that will matter much to Trump supporters, and you run the risk of further feeding the narrative of Trump as a victim of a political prosecution," Haggerty told Newsweek.

He pointed to other recent high-profile cases like the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trial, which drew considerable sympathy for Depp over social media, and the murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, which was preceded by both a Netflix and HBO Max docuseries on the crime.

While Haggerty sees a televised trial as a win for Trump, public relations expert Richard Laermer thinks a televised trial would be "the worst thing for Trump."

"People who are not in his base will see exactly how he behaves and his poll numbers will drop precipitously," Laermer told Newsweek. "Cameras are a losing battle for him in a courtroom because of his body language and general battling nature."

While Trump performs terrifically at political rallies and during interviews with reporters, Laermer said his power would be limited in a courtroom, where he would have less control over the dynamics of his appearance.

"Trump may be an entertainment blockbuster but I don't think a courtroom would play well as a stage for him," Laermer said. "The judge telling him to 'stop talking and sit down' is something the non-base undecided [voters] will think is atrocious."

There is a chance that Trump's public image could sway voters into liking or disliking him more, but Weaver said the greater likelihood is that it will exacerbate the way people already perceive him.

"Trials are learning opportunities about defendants," he said. "There's very few things Americans can learn about Donald Trump. They already think they know him, so very few minds will be changed about whether he's a good or a bad person."

Because polls show that a majority of Republican voters support a second Trump term, a televised trial will only help the former president beat out his rivals.

"Every legal action that Democratic prosecutors have brought against this president makes it more likely he will win the Republican primary," Weaver said.

Correction 08/15/23, 8:16 p.m. ET: An earlier version of this article misspelled James Haggerty's name. We regret the error.