Trump trial today: Ex-president braces for fraud trial verdict as allies pledge ‘holy war’ against Taylor Swift

Donald Trump has reportedly been grousing about Taylor Swift’s popularity amid speculation that she’s set to endorse President Biden.

Swift is yet to issue an endorsement of any candidate, but The New York Times reported on Monday that aides to the president are hoping to sign her on as a campaign surrogate considering her expansive cultural influence.

Meanwhile, some conspiracy-minded conservatives have even convinced themselves that this year’s NFL season has been rigged to provide a Super Bowl platform for Swift alongside her boyfriend Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs.

The subject has completely taken over Fox News, Newsmax and other conservative outlets this week, of which the following exchange is only the latest example:

An individual close to Trump has even told Rolling Stone magazine that allies of the former president are preparing for a “holy war” against the pop star.

Meanwhile, Voters of Tomorrow, a Gen Z-led nonpartisan organisation that harnesses the political power of young Americans and previously spearheaded the “S.W.I.F.T. Initiative” to fight Ticketmaster and other monopolies, has issued the following statement on said “holy war” against their heroine:

“Taylor warned us that the haters gonna hate, and we know all too well that Trump is America’s biggest hater. Now, the former president is attacking Taylor herself — but we are not surprised. Gen Z knew Trump was trouble when he walked into the White House and waged war on our abortion rights, voting rights, and safety.

“Of course, he can’t help but go after our favorite cultural icon, too. While Trump claims he is ‘more popular’ than Taylor, he is not fooling anyone. Taylor is headlining the most successful tour in history, drawing crowds that Trump only sees in his wildest dreams.

“Gen Z has a message for Trump: Go ahead and keep attacking Taylor Swift. We dare you. By picking a fight with Taylor, you are picking a fight with young voters. And the last thing you need is an even worse reputation with us come November.”

Gustaf Kilander reports on all of this madness.

Joe Biden leads Donald Trump by six points, 50 to 44 per cent, among registered voters, up from a one-point lead in December, according to a new poll from Quinnipiac University.

The Democrat is getting stronger among women voters according to the survey released on Wednesday, leading his predecessor by 58 to 36 per cent.

In December, Biden’s lead was significantly smaller among women, 53 to 41 per cent.

“The gender demographic tells a story to keep an eye on. Propelled by female voters in just the past few weeks, the head-to-head tie with Trump morphs into a modest lead for Biden,” Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said in a statement.

The same hypothetical 2024 general election poll released on 20 December was considered too close to call as Biden led by only 47 to 46 per cent.

Gustaf Kilander digs into the numbers.

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As the Republican’s second defamation trial ended last week, the jury was reminded that Trump claimed under oath to be worth $10bn and to keep that figure in mind when they assessed punitive damages.

They arrived at a figure of $65m out of the total of $83.3m including compensatory payments.

Can he actually afford these massive payouts?

Here’s a look at what we know about the state of the former president’s finances.

Political action committees tied to Donald Trump spent roughly $50m on legal costs last year as the former president navigated his four criminal indictments and a mountain of litigation that could threaten both his White House ambitions and his family business.

Campaign filings with the Federal Election Commission outline a long list of legal expenses to more than 50 firms and attorneys, offering the best glimpse yet of the enormous costs of Trump’s year of lawsuits and criminal cases.

The Republican was back in Washington, DC, on Wednesday to visit the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, hoping to win over the trucking union and its members after United Auto Workers backed Joe Biden last week.

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This was a tricky proposition for Trump, a man who once said this about organised labour:

He had hosted the Teamsters’ leader Sean O’Brien for dinner at Mar-a-Lago in January but not everyone in the organisation’s hierarchy agreed with the decision to return the invitation to their HQ.

Nevertheless, the meeting itself appeared to pass cordially enough but Trump did struggle with some obvious questions when quizzed by reporters:

Trump’s New York civil fraud lawsuit (in which a verdict is expected imminently) has potentially blown up his decades-long narrative of business success (if you don’t count his companies filing for bankruptcy six times, that is) but the former president has managed to makee his legal challenges central to his campaign for re-election.

Here’s more from Alex Woodward.

Alex Woodward has been following the case:

Following the jury’s decision in the E Jean Carroll case, things could be about to get a whole lot worse for Donald Trump as another potentially devastating lawsuit draws to a close in New York this week, this one posing a significant threat to his vast real estate empire and meaning he could be prevented from ever doing business in his hometown again.

Joe Sommerlad looks at just how much the former president might be paying out:

What did we learn about Mr Trump’s real estate holdings during the trial? There were a lot of numbers as the attorney general’s counsel laid out its case, and a lot of hyperbole from the Trump family as the defence laid out its argument — including Donald Trump Jr taking the court through a timeline of the real estate business, praising his father for the “boundaries he pushed” and calling him an “artist with real estate” who has “incredible vision where other people don’t”.

Here’s a look at the key Trump properties that were discussed the most over the 11 weeks in court:

Alina Habba, the attorney for Donald Trump who recently defended him in the E Jean Carroll defamation trial, walked back her claim that Ms Carroll’s attorney had a “mentor type relationship” with the judge who oversaw the trial after being threatened with sanctions.