There is no doubt that former president and candidate for the 2024 presidential elections, Donald Trump, is one of the most controversial politicians in American history. During his four years in the Oval Office from 2016 to 2020, Trump created an intense division within the nation: those who supported him and the others who detested him.
Trump’s policies, strong stances, and often politically incorrect statements have certainly played a large part in this division. However, now, as he runs for a second term, those who question Trump’s ability to lead the nation have another complaint. He is on trial for falsifying business records to cover up extramarital liaisons in the city of New York. Known as the “high money” case, Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records and using his attorney to pay several women hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep his secrets.
The case is certainly complicated for many reasons, but one of the most cumbersome aspects of the trial is that the court has to find 12 jurors and six alternates who are impartial to the former president. Of course, this is no easy task, as the majority of Americans either love or hate the controversial leader. Therefore, the court of NYC summoned more than 500 potential jurors in the hopes of finding just 18 who believe they can judge the man without bias. On April 15, 2024, several jurors were dismissed for various personal and professional reasons, including one Kara McGee.
After being dismissed, McGee was interviewed by the press outside the courthouse. When asked about her experience, the young American told MSNBC that seeing the former president in person was “jarring.”
She explained that in the courtroom, she was sitting less than 30 feet from a man whom she had watched on television for years. McGee explained, “I had never seen him in person before, you know. And you see someone blown up so larger than life on the media for so many years, to see them in person is very jarring.“
McGee also said, “You get the sense that this is just another guy. And also, he sees me talking about him, which is bizarre.”
She told the press that when she was summoned for jury duty, she had no idea it was for the Trump case until she arrived at the courthouse that morning. She said, “And then I [got] here yesterday, and there’s a massive line and Trump protesters and counter-protesters … and our holding room had something like 250 people in it, so I assumed that was it.”
McGee said that she was dismissed because of job-related issues; however, it’s likely that the vast majority of the other 500 jurors will be let go due to their personal feelings regarding the could-be president. Reports from within the courtroom say that Todd Blanche, one of Trump’s many attorneys, asked every single juror how they felt about the former president. But finding 18 Americans who feel indifferent toward Donald Trump is certainly going to be a challenge.
