Arthur Engoron

It was a bad week in court for the former US president. He and his sons and company were fined a massive amount of money and onerous restraining conditions for business fraud. His legal troubles are adding to what could prove to be the most divisive elections in American history 

Trump managed himself into bankruptcy six times in casinos, airlines, steaks, wine, universities and real estate. His 2016 election required voters to ignore reality or feign amnesia. Understanding this makes Trump less a phenomenon or role model than the ultimate realization of a tradition as old as the nation itself. His bravado at the defense table in a trial where the judge has already ruled him a fraud is his way of reflecting his own hype: Penalties? What’s $250 million to a man like me, his behaviour demonstrates. Despite facing 91 felony counts in four separate criminal cases, he was determined to make the civil suit in New York into a carnival to help his 2024 campaign for US president