ON MUTE — For decades, Donald Trump has operated in a consistent fashion: If you cross him, expect a counterattack that’s disproportionately more brutal and unrelenting than anything you did to him.

But after Justice Juan Merchan delivered a stern warning at the beginning of the week that if he keeps violating his gag order he’ll land himself in jail, Trump finds himself in an unfamiliar position: Bubbling over with rage and without a good outlet to let some of it fly. The real threat of jail — no matter how insistent he is that he’ll proudly walk into Rikers — has thus far made him largely respect the gag order this week.

The timing of Merchan’s warning came at an especially inopportune time for Trump. On Tuesday and Thursday, the former president was forced to sit and listen to explosive and at times lewd testimony from Stormy Daniels, who described in some detail the sex that they had. Trump defense attorney Susan Necheles also brought up some of Daniels’ former public insults directed towards Trump, sure to make the former president’s blood boil, including “I don’t owe him shit and I’ll never give that orange turd a dime.”

While sitting through testimony from Daniels that sounded at times designed to humiliate him — Necheles at one point brought up Daniels’ comments that when she saw Trump in his underwear she almost fainted — Trump was visibly huffing and puffing, shaking his head, and shifting in his seat. At one point, he seemed to mouth “bullshit,” behavior demonstrable enough that Merchan instructed his lawyers to get him to cool off.

That request might be categorically impossible to fulfill. Since he burst onto the political scene, Trump’s appeal to Republicans was precisely his attack dog mentality — leave no slight unpunished, no rival unbruised, and always exact revenge. In his 2007 book Think Big, he explained his first rule of business: “Always get even. When you are in business, you need to get even with people who screw you.”

Charting his political career, it’s easy to see that mentality playing out in real time. He’s purged the Republican Party of his detractors, insulted and disparaged his skeptics, and driven out of office some of the GOP’s most prominent politicians. Of the ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after Jan. 6, only two remain in Congress — in no small part due to his efforts.

Trump’s scorched earth strategy has made him one of the most polarizing presidents ever to hold office, but it’s also propelled the unshakable loyalty that many of his supporters have for him. In court this week, however, his political superpower — the willingness to launch shock-and-awe, no-holds-barred personal attacks on his foes — was neutralized.

He’s been forced to rely on surrogates without the charisma or the killer instinct to deliver his message.

“What’s happening in this courtroom is clearly criminal. It’s being led by political thugs,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) put it in an appearance outside the Manhattan courtroom on Thursday.

While Trump shared some of Scott’s comments on Truth Social, he notably didn’t include the point he wanted to convey the most — his belief about the criminality of the trial, as that would have been a violation of his gag order.

Merchan’s crackdown this week has put Trump in a position with which he’s never before had to contend — even visible fuming in his chair can rise to the level of contempt, as the judge reminded Trump and his lawyers in the midst of Daniels’ testimony on Tuesday. When the adult film star returned to court on Thursday, Trump was a bit more cowed. At some point, soon, though, he might no longer be able to contain his frustration.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said today that there are likely only two witnesses remaining in the prosecution’s case-in-chief. “It’s entirely possible that we will rest by the end of next week,” Steinglass said.

Even so, it’s a week that’s likely to test Trump like no other. One of those witnesses, currently likely to appear on Monday, is Michael Cohen, who is both the key witness in the prosecution’s case and Trump’s old fixer-turned-foe.

Once an instrument of Trump’s fury, Cohen’s break with Trump is so complete that Merchan has had to instruct prosecutors to get Cohen to stop discussing the case on TikTok.

Trump’s animosity toward his former associate is by now well-known. In early April, Trump called Cohen and Daniels “two sleaze bags who have, with their lies and misrepresentations, cost our Country dearly!” That’s just the latest of many insults that Trump has thrown at Cohen since 2018, when Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance crimes related to Trump.

And Cohen has fired right back, calling Trump “VonShitzInPantz” on X (formerly Twitter), a nickname that Trump attorney Todd Blanche read aloud in court to complain about Cohen’s social media activity.

Trump’s legal case rests on his lawyers’ ability to discredit Cohen’s testimony, in what is sure to be a fiery cross-examination. In the near term, though, thanks to Merchan’s gag order, Trump’s ability to stay out of jail may rest on whether he can continue to suppress his natural instincts to attack. It won’t come easily.

Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at [email protected]. Or contact tonight’s author at [email protected] or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @calder_mchugh.

TRUMP ON TRIAL

STAY FOCUSED — Madeleine Westerhout, the former director of Oval Office operations, continued her testimony today. In a cross-examination, she testified that she would sometimes see Trump signing checks while being on the phone or otherwise distracted. This is an important point for the defense, as they try to argue it was possible Trump was unaware of the nature or purpose of the checks that he was signing for Michael Cohen.

“Would you see him signing checks without reviewing them?” defense attorney Susan Necheles said. “Yes,” Westerhout replied. “He was a multitasker, right?” Necheles asked. “Definitely,” the witness said.

GET OFF YOUR PHONE — At the request of Trump’s lawyers, Justice Juan Merchan has instructed prosecutors to ask Michael Cohen — who’s expected to take the witness stand Monday — to stop publicly talking about the case and Trump.

“I will direct the people to communicate to Mr. Cohen that the judge is asking him to refrain from making any more statements about this case” or about Trump, Merchan said. “That comes from the bench and you are communicating that on behalf of the bench,” he added.

The directive came just after Trump lawyer Todd Blanche cited ongoing commentary by Cohen and asked for Cohen to be put under the same gag order that the judge imposed on Trump. Cohen has frequently used his TikTok account to comment on the case.

What'd I Miss?

— Appeals court upholds Steve Bannon’s conviction for defying Jan. 6 probe: A federal appeals court today upheld the criminal conviction of Steve Bannon, a longtime adviser to Donald Trump, for defying a subpoena from the Jan. 6 House select committee, a ruling that could send the populist conservative strategist to prison. Bannon was sentenced to four months in jail in 2022 by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols after a jury convicted him of two counts of contempt of Congress. But Nichols, a Trump appointee, agreed to postpone the jail term while Bannon appealed the decision, agreeing that the complex mix of laws that govern executive privilege and testimonial immunity for White House aides could be overturned by higher courts.

— Pentagon orders all U.S. combat troops to withdraw from Niger: The Pentagon this week formally ordered all 1,000 U.S. combat troops to withdraw from Niger, a blow to the Biden administration’s effort to counter terrorism and Russian influence in West Africa. The U.S. announced in April that it would begin discussing plans for “an orderly and responsible withdrawal” after Niger’s military junta declared it would revoke its military cooperation deal with Washington. But U.S. officials have continued to negotiate with the junta over the terms of the withdrawal and whether there was any possibility some American troops could stay.

— FBI probes whether Iran envoy Malley committed crimes in handling of classified info: The FBI is investigating whether the Biden administration’s Iran envoy, Rob Malley, moved classified information onto his personal email, where it may have fallen into the hands of a foreign actor, according to a person briefed on the case and a letter from Republican lawmakers. Investigators are trying to determine if any crimes were committed, according to the person briefed on the case and another person familiar with the matter. But it is not yet clear if the Department of Justice will bring any charges against Malley or what the scope of any charges might be.

Nightly Road to 2024

THE CRYPTO PRESIDENT — Donald Trump is making presidential history all over again: He’s poised to be the first major party nominee to court cryptocurrency traders, reports POLITICO. It’s leaving some Democrats feeling uneasy. Trump told crypto backers at Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday that they “better vote” for him because of the way the Biden administration has unleashed a regulatory crackdown on the industry.

Trump’s overt play for the crypto faithful is a big shift from the criticism he dished out in his first term, but it’s not unexpected. The GOP has become increasingly friendly toward bitcoin and other digital assets in recent years, while key Democrats remain at odds over whether to grant the industry legitimacy after a series of scandals.

MOREHOUSE MAN — A group of Morehouse College faculty members are pushing to stop the school from conferring an honorary doctorate on President Joe Biden at its commencement ceremony on May 19, reports NBC News. Morehouse President David Thomas met virtually with faculty members Wednesday to discuss the issue.

Those against the decision criticized Biden’s policies on policing and mass incarceration, his handling of the conflict in Gaza and his more recent comments around student protests. Those in favor of the honorary degree called attacks against Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza “unwarranted,” according to the person on the call.

AROUND THE WORLD

FEELING PARCHED — In the spring, tourists pour into Barcelona, bringing important revenue to the region. They also drink and use up a lot of water — much more than the average resident — threatening to push Barcelona’s water supply to the breaking point.

The disconnect has locals fulminating. While Catalan municipalities have faced water consumption limits since the region declared a drought emergency in early February, the tourism sector has largely escaped restrictions.

Those tensions have spilled into regional elections scheduled for May 12 — a snap vote called following a political fight over a water-guzzling construction project targeted at tourists.

“Flats in Barcelona have efficient showers and so on. But there are many millions of people visiting every year, and in terms of waste and water use, they behave like people here did 30 years ago,” Vicenç Acuña, director of the Catalan Institute for Water Research, said.

Given its importance to the region’s economy, local authorities have treated the sector with kid gloves, he added. “There has been no pressure on the tourist sector to change.”

On Tuesday, days before the vote, the regional government said it would soon ease water restrictions due to recent rainfall. Some opposition candidates suspect an election maneuver — and an attempt “ to save hotel pool season.”

RIGHTS REQUESTS — The U.N. General Assembly voted by a wide margin today to grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestine and called on the Security Council to reconsider Palestine’s request to become the 194th member of the United Nations.

The 193-member world body approved the Arab and Palestinian-sponsored resolution by a vote of 143-9 with 25 abstentions. The United States voted against the resolution, along with Israel, Argentina, Czechia, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Papua New Guinea.

The vote reflected the wide global support for full membership of Palestine in the United Nations, with many countries expressing outrage at the escalating death toll in Gaza and fears of a major Israeli offensive in Rafah, a southern city where about 1.3 million Palestinians have sought refuge.

But while it gives Palestine some new rights and privileges, it reaffirms that it remains a non-member observer state without the right to vote in the General Assembly or at any of its conferences. And the United States has made clear that it will block Palestinian membership and statehood until direct negotiations with Israel resolve key issues, including security, boundaries and the future of Jerusalem.

Nightly Number

RADAR SWEEP

DISS DISH — In the midst of an escalating series of diss tracks that captivated the world of hip hop, between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, Lamar released “euphoria.” And a mostly throwaway line from that track — “I be at New Ho King eatin’ fried rice with a dip sauce and a blammy, crodie,” Lamar raps (mocking Toronto slang, where Drake grew up) — has had huge implications for a restaurant. New Ho King is a real Chinese restaurant in the midst of Toronto’s Chinatown, which has been around for 50 years. Now, patrons are lining up to get their fried rice (or “Kendrick special”) as some of them are calling it. It’s led New Ho King’s owners to a newfound fame that they’re trying to reckon with, as they ended up in the middle of a rap beef that they didn’t expect. Leyland Cecco reports from Toronto in The Guardian.

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