Opinion | Donald Trump's trial in Georgia should be broadcast in … – The Washington Post
Adam Davidson, a journalist living in Vermont, was co-founder and co-host of NPR’s “Planet Money” podcast.
The court proceedings in Fulton County, Ga., are a real opportunity for clarity about Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the state’s 2020 election results. Or they could add to the carnival-like confusion that has already caused so much damage to the country.
And which way it goes could depend on whether the proceedings are broadcast live on video or audio alone.
The reason for that gets at the essence of these two forms of media; listening to someone talk is an entirely distinct experience from watching someone talk. Radio producers have been arguing this for decades, and a host of studies back them up. When a person listens, the brain is far more active. It re-creates the narrative it is hearing and follows along with deeper emotional and intellectual engagement; this means the brain can detect lies or illogical leaps far more easily. When a person watches something on TV, though, the brain acts differently: It’s passive, simply accepting whatever is shown.
Think back to the moment you first heard the recording of Trump’s phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. It was riveting. We were hearing a kind of conversation that no doubt played out daily in the Trump White House: a bully berating someone he considered a subordinate, demanding a solution that had no basis in law or fact. For a moment, the nature of the Trump presidency and the emptiness of his demands were laid bare. Mainstream media didn’t reflexively engage in both-sides-ism. There was one correct side, and it was the side of democracy.
We’ve had other such moments. Such as release of then-FBI Director James B. Comey’s contemporaneous memos, which showed Trump pressuring the Justice Department to serve his own interests. And the “perfect” Ukraine phone call, in which Trump sought to leverage the military might of the United States for petty political gains. Don’t forget the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape, which leaked in 2016 and captured Trump off-camera bragging about his ability to sexually assault women and “grab them by the p—y.”
The common denominator in all of these? No video accompaniment. The evidence was solely in the form of written and spoken words.
Now imagine, however, that we had video, too. Imagine Trump leaning over, glowering at Comey or Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky or Georgia’s secretary of state. Picture Trump’s hand gestures and smug facial expressions during “locker room talk.” We don’t need much imagination, though. We see Trump engaging in and confessing to egregious behavior on video all the time: at news conferences when he was president, in his regular Truth Social videos and in interviews with right-wing media. There is a reason these brazen video confessions so rarely break through the noise. They tip the balance in an ongoing battle between spectacle and clarity — and when we see Trump, we are instantly in the world of spectacle.
When Trump is on camera, the words coming out of his mouth are but one bit of detail — and hardly the most important. We’ve seen Trump defiant, Trump confused, Trump sweaty and Trump desperate, and every version is visually arresting. His performance — sometimes masterful but often inept — shapes the entirety of the discussion.
And if we barely pay attention to the former president’s words, then we tend to ignore the words of every other person in the room. Just think of the recent coverage surrounding his booking in Georgia. The fixation on whether there would be a Trump mug shot dominated news cycles; as did whether he’d smile or scowl (he scowled) and whether the picture would help or hurt his campaign fundraising (it helped). And that’s just a photograph!
A televised trial will provide endless images and video of the former president. Imagine weeks of seeing Trump bored, angry, defiant or confused. He will or he won’t acknowledge his co-defendants. When things go his way, he will smile, but when they don’t, he will communicate his fury. Forget the white Bronco chase; Trump’s daily courtroom performance will be the single greatest gift to television in history.
The one thing that will be lost is the only thing that matters: the subversion of our democracy.
The only reason to broadcast the trial is to serve the public interest in this most consequential of cases. That means providing clear details and analysis of how the alleged conspiracy to deny voters their rights took place — not focusing on Trump’s reaction (and it feels almost absurd to have to write that). Those details can be fully presented in words, recorded speech and written pleadings. If Trump wants to share his version of events, then he is free to testify (which is unlikely).
We cannot allow Trump to shift our focus merely with a glance or slight body movement. Allow microphones in the courtroom. Get good ones. We want the audio crystal clear. But do not allow cameras.
The Washington Post accepts opinion articles on any topic. We welcome submissions on local, national and international issues. We publish work that varies in length and format, including multimedia. Submit a guest opinion or read our guide to writing an opinion article.