Good afternoon from New York. I'm here, admittedly, against my better judgment. I thought it would be a neat idea to check in on the circus outside Donald Trump's arraignment. A historic event for the ages, I thought to myself yesterday. Gee whiz!
But I'm a day older and acutely recalling why I tend to avoid attending political spectacles involving our former president. Where else do you run into people ranting about antifa? Not in any halfhearted way, but with true, delusional screams. Where else do you encounter folks who relish awkward political costumes? (A woman draped in fake dollar bills representing the hush money Trump allegedly paid to Stormy Daniels is now forever imprinted on my brain.)
Now, I'm not advocating that the media avoid reporting these events; truly thank goodness for Mother Jones reporters like Russ Choma, James West, and David Corn who have a much higher tolerance for all this stuff. But witnessing Trump-era bile in real life? This is simply not for me. No, it's too nice out today. If you're in New York, go read about the 34 felony counts against Trump while sipping on a nice al fresco drink. If you're in Wisconsin, go vote! Do anything but follow Trump's whereabouts.
—Inae Oh
