The News
News outlets around the world reacted on Wednesday to the spectacle of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s history-making arraignment in a New York City courtroom.
On Tuesday Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges of falsifying business records, all of which relate to hush-money payments over extramarital affairs during his 2016 election campaign.
Here’s a look at how international media is responding.
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Der Spiegel
In German-language outlet Der Spiegel, reporter Marc Pitzke observes that Trump, at one time the most powerful man in the world, appeared “suddenly powerless, at the mercy of forces he thinks he is above: the police, the public prosecutor, the judge.” Pitzke, reporting from the Manhattan court in New York, described the tension between Trump’s usual gilded life against the worn leather of the courtroom chairs.
The Globe and Mail
April 4, 2023 is a date which will now be etched into the collective consciousness, David Shribman wrote for Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail. Trump’s demeanor in the courtroom reflected a man, Shribman notes, who “clearly knew he was in the fight of his life, even if the fresh charges are the least damaging of those he is likely to face.”
Le Figaro
Tuesday’s proceedings were undeniably historic in nature, reporter Adrian Jaulmes writes for French-language newspaper Le Figaro. But even in the course of Trump’s “extraordinary career,” Jaulmes says, “the scene has never had an equivalent.” The court appearance has catapulted Trump back into the spotlight, he adds, helping to galvanize his 2024 presidential bid which had been struggling to take off ahead of the indictment.
