Trump's birthday message for Melania is a gift for me

The MoJo Daily newsletter, Monday through Friday. [View in browser]( [Support our nonprofit journalism]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     April 26, 2024 Public birthday messages personally give me the ick. But [this one from Donald Trump](, on the occasion of his wife's 54th birthday, [is something I'll treasure](. "I want to start by wishing my wife, Melania, a very happy birthday," Trump told reporters on Friday, his fourth day of testimony in his criminal trial. "It would be nice to be with her but I’m at a courthouse for a rigged trial." Trump is correct in that he is legally restricted from being anywhere but the Manhattan courthouse where he faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to an alleged affair he had with Stormy Daniels. The trial, however, is not rigged and is instead the direct result of an alleged extramarital relationship, which reportedly involved [spanking and hours of Shark Week](, carried out just months after Melania had given birth to the couple’s son. So how does Melania feel about her name being invoked this morning? We might never know with certainty. But I'll bet the house that she is displeased. Them's the breaks for marrying Donald J. Trump. —Inae Oh Advertisement [The Workers Circle]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [Trump Denies the Affairs at the Heart of the Hush-Money Case. Almost No One Believes Him.]( This strategy could backfire. BY DAN FRIEDMAN SPONSORED CONTENT BY THE WORKERS CIRCLE   Join us on April 30 for a conversation with Ari Berman. The Capitol mob of Jan 6, 2021 represented a threat to American democracy: blatant defiance of majority will. Democracy's erosion predates Trump. [Join journalist Ari Berman on April 30, 7:00 PM ET](, as he explores efforts to subvert democracy in his new book, Minority Rule: The Right-Wing Attack on the Will of the People—and the Fight to Resist It. [Trending] [Samuel Alito has a very strange theory for how to protect democracy]( BY PEMA LEVY   [G20 ministers get behind a global wealth tax on billionaires]( BY LARRY ELLIOTT   [Trump's birthday message for Melania is a gift for his haters]( BY INAE OH   [This tribe will gladly accept clean energy funding, even if Wyoming won't]( BY JAKE BOLSTER Advertisement [The Workers Circle]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [Raffi's guide to fighting fascism]( "Let it shine, baby. We just need caring souls." BY EMMA SILVERS MOTHER JONES MEMBERSHIP UPDATE   An important update on our finances We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals—and we can’t sustain coming up short on [donations]( month after month. It is [impossibly hard]( in the news business right now, and the [crisis]( facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. Neither is Mother Jones. Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and [joined forces]( with the Center for Investigative Reporting, which creates the amazing podcast and public radio show [Reveal]( and other investigative projects. It’s going to be hard making it all work, and we simply can’t afford to fall behind our fundraising targets month after month. If you can part with even just a few bucks, [please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today](. And thank you so much to everyone who recently has. We’re grateful. [Donate]( Did you enjoy this newsletter? Share it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755