Well, Well, Well

You may not have heard, but former President Donald Trump was indicted yesterday on "more than 30" criminal charges by Manhattan's District Attorney. United States criminal justice system, welcome to The Resistance.

Now, regardless of how squeamish you feel about this momentary victory for Trump's political adversaries, it's important to flash back to the emotional drama at the core of this.

Donald Trump was born in Queens the scion of a wealthy real estate developer, went to private school, spent the Civil Rights era at Wharton, dodged the draft (the only cool thing he ever did), and then from there (allegedly, but alleged credibly and frequently) sexually assaulted his way through a life of using loans from his rich dad to become a celebrity slumlord, failing abjectly at business while remaining rich, marrying models, developing a bespoke tweeting style, having terrible aesthetic taste, being a guy with a catchphrase, and popularizing birtherism without the remotest fear of reprisal and all without ever making a single friend.

Running for president as his first foray into politics and winning was a victory lap on a basically consequence-free life. As fate would have it, though, on a personal level, it was also probably the worst thing that ever happened to the guy. Having been fueled by pure resentment, he found he won a highly stressful, 24-hours-on-the-clock job he obviously didn't actually care about, the enmity of millions, where previously he had loved to be liked, and now–and we'll see how this all actually goes–potentially going to jail. And despite all that, trapped in a vortex of misery and outrage, he intends to run again next year. It definitely doesn't seem like fun.  

Trump almost got away with fading into camp obscurity after living a life of luxury and casual cruelty. If he hadn't wanted that last, biggest, shiniest trophy, he could have had all the rest of them, and retired into history a weird famous guy to most, the funny man from "Zoolander" whose tweets went viral every once in a while.

Now, are the current charges against him meaningful? Uh, no comment. We'll have to wait for the indictment to be released. But think of this like the day Trump got COVID, which is widely remembered as one of the funniest days to be on Twitter. Was that because we all actually love the infection caused by the novel coronavirus? No. It was because it's great when bad shit happens to a guy who sucks. 

Some more great links to start your weekend off… great:

• Yusef Salaam, one of the Central Park Five, released a one-word statement on Trump's indictment.
• Looks like Tuesday's The Big Day.
• We urge Jacob Garlick to have Hell Gate be the first media outlet he speaks to as this Flatiron Building auction debacle unfolds.
• Who could have predicted that when BuzzFeed said they would only make some quizzes by A.I., they were actually planning to do More Than That? Maybe an A.I.
• Donovan Richards passing the "make a weed purchase" test.
• The NYC Department of Investigation has found that cops did indeed harass 311 callers.
• Oh fuck yeah, check out John Tomac's new baseball mural for the MTA.
• One in three New York parents say their kids still live at home.
• Kathy Hochul dodges a direct question about Good Cause Eviction.
• Are you allowed to demand that people can only cook vegan food in an apartment you're renting?
• AOC went off on the weirdo who runs LibsOfTikTok.
• Landlords want to raise the rent even more.
• Let's go Mets!