Yesterday, former president Donald Trump appeared at the downtown Manhattan courthouse for the start of his civil fraud trial against the New York attorney general’s office. 


The charges levied against him by the New York Attorney General, Letitia James are in addition to four separate criminal charges the ex-commander-in-chief is facing. Trump was found liable for 250 million dollars worth of fraud last week by Judge Arthur Engoron.


Trump voluntarily appeared in court along with his legal counsel, in his own words, “Because I want to watch this witch hunt myself.” But when the cameras rolled in, as permitted by Judge Engoron, so did the memes; specifically in regards to the sitcom-like approach the camera operators took when introducing the trial’s “main characters.” 


Complete with a fourth-wall-breaking smile from Engoron even Jim Halpert would be proud of, people couldn’t help but add their own captions and music.


@robisraelart Loving the new Donald Trump Show. #90ssitcom #90ssitcomintro #JusticeEngoron #donaldtrump #fullhouse #manhattan #JusticeArthurEngoron ♬ original sound - RobIsraelart


@tuckersmediashow Trump: Step by step #trump #sitcom #stepbystep #trumpcourt #vintage #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #foryourpage #courttv #court ♬ original sound - Tucker’s Media Show


@hunglikeahotdog #trump #court #news #today #fyp #fypシ #fypage #fypシ゚viral #fypp #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp #fypdong #meme #memes #memestiktok #viral #viralvideo #viraltiktok #virall #viral_video #viralvideos #goviral #lol #lolz #90s #tv #show #politics #law #funny #funnyvideos #funnyvideo #funnymoments #comedyvideo #laugh #laughter #trump2024 #usa #monday #follow #like #share ♬ Family Matters (Intro) - Da Family


@floridaonadimemissy “Steve” looks like a pretty cool dude.. respectfully. @Rosie ODonnell Were you glued today? #myfriendsteve #trump #trumptrial #trumpindictment #courthearing #hearing #donaldtrump #president #fyp #foryoupage #judge ♬ som original - taina


@marcomtll #theoffice #donaldtrump #thejudge ♬ original sound - Marcomtl


In addition to Engoron’s infectious smile, the internet paid special attention to Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba; specifically her 2070 Ti ASUS gaming laptop with blue underglow and dynamic color rotation.



“She's got runescape running during the proceedings for sure,” @OhDougless tweeted. While it’s true that Habba’s laptop was quite possibly the most capable in the courtroom, its non-professional aesthetic was enough to trigger a whole new round of trial memes.





And finally, no big American political event would be complete without the people from r/PhotoshopBattles taking a crack at it. Here are some of the best fraud trial photoshops to complete our meme coverage of Trump’s opening day at the downtown Manhattan courthouse.