Behind closed doors at his Mar-a-Lago mansion, Donald Trump has told friends and colleagues that he welcomes the prospect of being arrested and kicked out by police in handcuffs under flashing photojournalists. He even seriously discussed whether he should smile in front of the cameras and how the public would react to the news of his arrest, calling the experience “fun”. No one knows if Trump’s comments stem from his innate penchant for pomp, or if they are the first sign that he is aware of what’s to come. Legal circles, however, refute Trump’s scenario, pointing out that even if the New York District Attorney’s office issues a warrant for his arrest for bribing former porn star Stormy Daniels, the ex-president is not going to parade in handcuffs before Parliament. cameras. Instead, the Secret Service, which is responsible for guarding former presidents and other government officials, will arrange for Trump to be secretly transported to the courthouse for arraignment.

As the former president awaits a warrant for his arrest to become the first sitting or former US president to face criminal charges, close aides say he often appears to be unaware of the seriousness of the charges against him. He spends his days on the golf course and took over disc jockey duties at the mansion a few days ago.

He describes the prospect of being arrested and exiled in handcuffs as “fun”.

When Trump deals with a criminal case in New York — the former president faces other charges in the state of Georgia, as well as justice in the federal capital of Washington — he tries to appear sober and free from all worries. He tries not to show the shame, remorse, or doubt in his actions that has distinguished him throughout his presidency. He said the sight of Trump sitting in the dock could rally his supporters, whom he urged to protest if he were arrested. “He wants to appear arrogant and show the world that if a ‘rotten system’ can do this kind of thing to him, then it can happen to anyone,” his colleague said. According to people close to him, he feels elated but also angered by the prospect of his arrest, while he continues to harbor illusions about his influence in the judiciary. For decades, Trump, who faced his first criminal investigation in the 1970s, feared arrest, spending years building relationships with judges and politicians. He is reportedly claiming that the repeated personal and provocative attacks he launched against Manhattan U.S. Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is in charge of Trump’s bribery investigation of Stormy Daniels, will convince the court official to leave prematurely.

Although legal circles consider such a development unlikely, Trump has shown that he believes in his ability to shape events in his favor, as he sometimes did. In October 2016, a few weeks before his election, the Washington Post published an interview in which the future president explained how he “grabbed women by the vulva.” Faced with criticism from Republicans, Trump’s instincts took him to the streets, where dozens of supporters gathered outside his New York skyscraper. In 2021, as Trump retired to Mar-a-Lago and worried about his political future, aides described the former president as depressed, worried about his age and being overweight. But he found psychological relief in his new routine, playing golf four times a day. In June 2021, he again organized election rallies.

Two years later, not only did he defy the expectations of those who expected him to no longer run for president, he also became a leader in the Republican nomination. The experience has bolstered Trump’s confidence, and his team believes a string of prosecutions erased from his future could have a positive impact on his presidential aspirations.