James F. Haggerty, CEO of PRCG, spoke to Newsweek magazine regarding who would benefit from a televised trial. He had this to say:

“Televised court cases are the ultimate reality TV—and Donald Trump, above all else, is a reality TV star,” James Haggerty, communications consultant specializing in high-profile litigation, told Newsweek. “He’s a master of the medium … Trump has been playing this game since the 1980s, and he’s good at it.”

He added that the only thing that could hurt Trump’s image is if he were to appear the way that he’s cast President Joe Biden: “old, confused or halting.”

Haggerty pointed out that a televised trial is much riskier for prosecutors:

“Yes, the prosecution could score points by putting the former president on the defensive, but I don’t think that will matter much to Trump supporters, and you run the risk of further feeding the narrative of Trump as a victim of a political prosecution,” Haggerty told Newsweek.

He pointed to other recent high-profile cases like the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trial, which drew considerable sympathy for Depp over social media, and the murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, which was preceded by both a Netflix and HBO Max docuseries on the crime.

The full interview can be found here.