Trump seems to be double-dog daring Judge Chutkan to lock him up before the trial. She should

There has got to be a major contest going on as Donald Trump’s brain tries to figure whether he will allow his fear of incarceration to outweigh the thought that his lifelong grift might get a badly needed boost if the government were to place him in pretrial detention.

Whatever he actually thinks in this regard, “pushing the envelope” doesn’t come close to describing how he’s treating the behavioral boundaries set by Judge Tanya Chutkan. Given the judge’s crystal clear warnings, Trump might as well be screeching “nyah, nyah, nyah” like a playground dare every time he mouths off with some faux-macho intimidation, something past history would suggest he is hard-wired to do. 

At some point, a threat must be exercised or the power of future threats is vapor. If Trump keeps it up, Chutkan will have little choice but to call his bluff and make good on her warnings.