The Campaign Moment

When it comes to the four criminal trials of Donald Trump, the Manhattan case has often been described as “the runt of the litter.” That’s because the particular charges against Trump aren’t as weighty, in that they don’t deal with a vast effort to undermine democracy or jeopardizing national security like the other charges against the former president.

But as the trial has gotten underway, we’ve been reintroduced to the cast of characters in the case. And I think it's possible that the details of the Manhattan case could remind people what they disliked about Trump during his presidency. The complex legal issues aside, it’s by far the most scandalous and salacious case, involving a porn star and secret hush money payments.

Senior National Investigations Editor Rosalind Helderman talks with The Campaign Moment co-host Aaron Blake about what we’ve seen in the first days of the hush money trial and how it might impact Trump’s 2024 campaign.

Subscribe to Aaron’s newsletter, The Campaign Moment, here.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Renita Jablonski.

Elahe Izadi talks with Aaron Blake and Liz Goodwin about Week 1 of Trump’s first criminal trial, how Israel is dividing Democrats in Congress, and whether GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson’s strategy to approve aid to Ukraine could cost him his job.

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Senior political reporter Aaron Blake – who also writes The Post’s newsletter of the same name – talks about former president Donald Trump’s first criminal trial in New York with Elahe Izadi and congressional reporter Liz Goodwin.

They also chat about how foreign policy is dividing both Democrats and Republicans in Congress. President Biden’s approach on Israel continues to be top of mind for many Democrats following Israel’s strike inside Iran on Thursday. And far-right Republicans are threatening to remove GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson after he put forward a plan to send aid to Ukraine this week.

Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Lucy Perkins.

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Subscribe to Aaron’s newsletter, The Campaign Moment, here.