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Culture War Roundup for the week of December 5, 2022

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Business as usual.

When writing on this subject before, it was very hard for me to read Trump’s team as acting in...I don’t want to say “good faith,” given that they may well be executing his best option. In expectation of having the facts on their side. This was the case for most of the Kraken lawsuits, too. Throw shit at the wall and hope for enough FUD that something sticks. The upside there was obvious—validation for his political campaign, hurting his enemies—but what does Trump really get from demanding his documents back?

The man likes winning. Has done quite a lot of it, even. In real estate, that meant throwing his legal weight around until something gives. Maybe you step on some toes, but you can’t make enemies with people who already hate you. I think Trump has no expectation of neutral observers. That removes one of the main downsides to frivolous suits. Whether or not he gets his stuff back, it’s a chance for subordinates to demonstrate their alignment.

The implication for any future lawsuits is clear. Trump consistently provides evidence that he is more interested in team loyalty than in objectivity. Attempts to use his suits as evidence to the contrary should be discounted.

I agree. This also seemed to successfully take some steam out of this story. He stopped the momentum and I'm sure that a large portion of people have forgotten about this. If it does pop up again, it'll be even easier to convince his audience that this is fake news Russiagate stuff again.