The first criminal trial in history against a former US president begins on Monday. What awaits Trump is a courtroom filled with reporters, a stubborn judge and a test of patience: he has to sit still and remain silent for six weeks.
So far, Donald J. Trump has always been able to use civil litigation to his political advantage. He railed against the “witch hunts” of the judiciary and the Biden administration, thereby mobilizing his supporters and therefore clearly winning the Republican primaries and his party’s candidacy.