Inside the Unglamorous Life of a Republican Attending Trump’s Trial

I thought the train ride back from Trump’s trial to D.C. would be a rollicking bacchanal. The truth was far more depressing.

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Supporters listen as Donald Trump speaks outside the courtroom on Tuesday. Mark Peterson/AP

MOYNIHAN TRAIN HALL — It was 2:59 p.m., Rep. Daniel Webster had been waiting for a train back to D.C. for more than two hours, and he was suffering a common fate in the Daniel P. Moynihan Train Hall: He couldn’t find a seat.

Webster had spent the morning at Donald Trump’s criminal trial on Tuesday, seeing the chaos and being seen in the chaos. He’d flown in from his Florida district the night before, showed up at Trump Tower early in the morning so he could stash his luggage, and got over to the courthouse long before the trial started, ensuring that he and six other members of Congress could get seats together right behind the former president.

After the defense rested its case midmorning on Tuesday, Webster joined his fellow Republicans for a press conference outside the courthouse. He spoke for approximately one minute, went back to Trump Tower to get his bag and then went to the train station.