Today is Tuesday, April 4, 2023. Today is another historic day in the career and life of one Donald J. Trump as he appeared in person to be arraigned on multiple felony counts in a Centre Street courthouse. Dumpf is accused of falsifying business records which is a crime in New York State, so spoke Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whom the defendant called an “animal” and other racist appellations. Bragg stated that the former president is being held to the same standard as anyone else who has committed a white-collar crime in New York, and boy, isn’t he!

I just happened to be watching MSNBC when the historic moment was captured, as the pudgy figure of the former president was seen walking through a door in the court building, wearing the worst hangdog expression anyone has ever seen on his ugly visage. The picture released to the world of him sitting in a courtroom has him looking stone faced and his lips pursed in anger. This is the face of a man who knows he’s been caught doing something naughty, it seems.

In another related story, the repugnant poster child for repugnican craziness, Marjorie Taylor Greene, was featured in a Daily News article in which the headlines scream out that she was thankfully drowned out by a sea of anti-Dumpf protesters here in New York. Where did this bimbo think the ex-president was being arraigned? Hot Bucket, Mississippi? Hell, lady, this is New York City, where Dumpf haters far outnumber Dumpf supporters by a very large margin. The article is entitled “Greene largely drowned out by anti-Trump protesters in NY,” and it is by Chris Sommerfeldt, Ellen Moynihan, and Larry McShane. The clueless representative was largely drowned out as she tried to speak at a rally for the twice-impeached president. As the very few Dumpf supporters stupidly chanted “USA! USA!” the anti-Dumpf opponents responded with “Lock him up!” to the accompaniment of pounding drums.

The meager pro-Dumpf contingent included Greene and another fabulist, Rep. George Santos, who I predict will serve only one term because of his multitude of lies. The idiotic Greene chanted, “This is election interference. DA Alvin Bragg, he is a tool for the Democrats, he’s trying to hijack the 2024 election. This should never happen in America . . . They will come after you tomorrow.” What far-right bullshit. Lady, you should never have happened in America, not the indictment.

New Yorkers responded to the blonde representative’s blather with whistle blowing and booing, as the cowardly lady was escorted away from a makeshift stage because of her decidedly unpleasant welcome from the crowd.

Santos received even more of a brutal greeting after turning up shortly before Greene spoke. One voice in the swelling lower Manhattan crowd shouted, “You’re a bitch!”

More saner voices spoke as Dumpf appeared in court. Julie DeLaurier, 66, of Brooklyn, said, “Happy arraignment day” to a reporter and also repeated the now-familiar refrain, “Lock him up.” DeLaurier, a registered Democrat, offered her support for President Joe Biden before adding the Trump prosecution was long overdue. “He has never been held accountable to the law,” she said. “And that’s the least of it. He tried to overthrow our democracy and he’s finally seeing the inside of a courtroom . . . The man will finally be held accountable.”

Another anti-Dumpf protester, Karen Irwin, 47, came downtown from Hell’s Kitchen waving a large “Fuck Trump” flag. (Where could I get one of those?)

Sofia Oliveri, 67, said, “He’s done so much damage. I don’t understand why it took so long. I’m here to support the justice system. I’m against Trump.”

The other side was heard from too. Scott Lobaido, a self-described Trump-backing artist and patriot from the city, predicted the indictment would only help the former commander in grief as he prepares to seek the GOP nomination next year. Oh God help us!

This delusional demonstrator also said that the criminal charges “will wake up the masses in this country.” He predicted that “the only way to fix this mess is for the radical left to pull back their reins and get us back to normal.” What will get us back to normal, Mr. Lobaido, is a swift conviction of your orange-haired messiah.

After watching what I could of the arraignment, I left the apartment to go into the city to attend my first meeting of the gay guys reading group that meets at the Jefferson Market Branch Library, on 10th Street and 6th Avenue. I took the F train and got off at West 4th Street. At some point, I had a light dinner at the Washington Square Diner.

Since it’s getting late, I cannot expound on the meeting except to say that the group welcomed about 27 participants and it was thoroughly enjoyable, in my estimation. The leader whose name is “Jake” started the discussion by asking everyone to introduce themselves and to say what last thing culturally they did. When it came to my turn, I mentioned my last trip to France and to Israel, forgetting that I went to a Picasso Museum in Antibes. Oh, I did mention seeing Bruce Springsteen on Saturday. I did not participate much in the book discussion since I admitted only reading 65 pages of the book. However, the group did not get off topic at all in the 90 minutes the group was scheduled to meet. This was a good sign. Afterward, some of the men assembled to walk to the Monster, a local gay bar. I decided to join them and spent much of the time speaking to a member by the name of “Orville.” He had just returned from a trip to London, so we compared notes of European travel.

I spent an hour or so at the bar and eventually we all separated to go home. The next book the group will be reading is Gore Vidal’s sex farce Myra Breckinridge. (I did read this book – but decades ago and it wouldn’t have hurt to read it again.) I will miss this discussion as well since I will be away in late April and early May. I hope to attend the meeting in June when the focus of the group is James Baldwin’s Go Tell It on the Mountain. I don’t believe I read this one.

Anyway, it’s time to declare it a day. Happy Passover again to my Jewish readers.

Stay safe and be well.

“What a punim!” as my mother would have said. It says everything.