But in the other US - that of Fox News, far-right podcasts and the Maga (Make America Great Again) base - the trial of the former president over a case involving a hush money payment to an adult film performer is playing out very differently.
Here, anger at what is seen as political persecution meets another emotion: sublime indifference. Barely a handful of Trump supporters bother to protest each day outside the court in New York, a Democratic stronghold.
The divergence ensures that, with TV cameras not permitted in court, two rival narratives are forming around the first criminal trial of a former US president.
In one, Trump is a philanderer who falsified business records to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election. In the other, he is victim of a conspiracy designed to rob the Republican nominee of victory in 2024.
This trial would already be devastating for any conventional politician.
This story is from the May 03, 2024 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
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This story is from the May 03, 2024 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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