Thread by @PalmerReport

Ever since New York first went after Trump’s tax returns, THE story has been that if Trump lost reelection he’d end up in prison. But the media ignored this, and Palmer Report took shit (from both sides) for being the only one to say it. Now everyone’s finally starting to see it.

Trump knew he was going to end up in a New York prison if he lost. It’s why he went to such desperate, delusional, and self defeating lengths to try to steal /overthrow the election. Those were the actions of a man who knew his life was over if he left office.

Yet the media ignored the huge story that Trump was on track for state prison if he lost, and instead went with the false narrative that if Trump lost he could just magically stay in office forever no matter what. False and absurd, but scarier, and thus more ratings-friendly.

Even after Trump was gone from office, the media still ignored THE story, which was that Trump was on track for prison in New York. Instead it went with the incredibly absurd fictional narrative that Trump would magically make a comeback in 2024.

But now that grand jury proceedings seem to be ramping up, and the Manhattan DA is two weeks from retirement, the odds are decent that Trump’s indictment is just days away. So now the media, having acted all along like this would never happen, has to begin covering its ass.

So now the media is talking about it, but acting as if it came out of nowhere. Wait, you mean when New York went to the Supreme Court to get Trump’s records, it wasn’t just for kicks? Wait, that grand jury has been working on indictments, not crossword puzzles, all this time?

So why did the media ignore that Trump was on track for prison?

1) Good news isn’t good for ratings

2) They didn’t know WHEN Trump would be indicted, didn’t want to shit from impatient audiences

3) Couldn’t hype “Trump comeback” for ratings if you admit he’s going to prison

Look at how much shit Palmer Report has taken for being the only one to ACCURATELY cover Trump’s ongoing path to a New York prison.

Look at how little blowback the mainstream media has faced for pretending Trump would magically remain in office, magically come back in 2024, etc.

So you can see why the media goes this route. It faces no consequences for pushing doomsday fiction as long as it’s so scary that 1) you’re too petrified to logically think it through, and 2) when it doesn’t happen you’re too relieved to realize you’ve been played for ratings.

The kicker is that even as the media finally starts admitting that Trump is on track for New York indictment, it’ll still frame it as something that’s stunning, instead of having been an obvious outcome all along.

What’s more, now that the media has to acknowledge Trump is on track for new York indictment, it’ll just shift right into its next doomsday narrative, which will either be that 1) he’ll be acquitted, or 2) his indictment will lead to wide scale violence. These are both bullshit.

New York is (intentionally) targeting Trump with the kinds of straightforward financial charges that essentially always result in conviction. If David Cay Johnston’s prediction is correct about racketeering charges, there will also be simpler financial charges.

And no, Trump won’t magically be acquitted because he’s a former President, or because he’s famous, or because of his “base.” But this will be the new doomsday narrative, because it’s scary, and if the media repeats it every day, you’ll start to succumb to the fear behind it.

No, there won’t be wide scale violence either. Trump losing and being booted from office was a far bigger blow to Trump fans than him being indicted or imprisoned. 1/6 was, obviously, the height of their violence – and only got that far because Trump blocked the national guard.

So no, Trump isn’t going to magically avoid conviction because he’s Trump, or because his supporters are going to successfully storm the courthouse and take it over. But you’ll hear this kind of crap anyway, because doomsday narratives are good for ratings.

The media and the doomsday pundits said Trump would successfully rig the 2020 election, overturn it in court, remain in office through force, avoid ever being indicted, and make a wild eyed comeback. WRONG at every turn. Now they’ll insist Trump will be acquitted. Wrong again.

Bonus points for bullshittrery will go to any pundits who try suggest that Trump being criminally indicted will just “embolden” him and cause him to definitely magically make a comeback in 2024. The media used to love insisting that every blow Trump took merely “emboldened” him.

Anyway, no one knows for sure when Trump will be indicted in New York, only that he almost certainly will be. Will it be just before Vance leaves office in two weeks, or after Bragg comes in and makes the call? Vance knows, maybe he’s told Bragg, but no one on the outside knows.

But because there’s a realistic CHANCE that Vance will indict Trump before this month is over, the media has to do that thing where it finally admits the obvious thing may be about to happen, but frames it as a surprise, and predicts it’ll have a doomsday outcome anyway.

And once New York does indict Trump, Palmer Report won’t get a lick of credit for having called it right all along. What’s the media going to do, congratulate us for having called out their bullshit? They can’t. Palmer Report will remain forever punished for having been right 🤷‍♂️