We were on our way out the door when the announcement that Trump had been indicted in New York state court dropped last night, yet the indictment remains sealed. Prosecutor Alvin Bragg seems to have achieved surprise with the timing of the indictment, or at least the announcement. Yet the indictment remains sealed. We have a good idea what it’s all about, but all the commentators can say at the moment is that it’s historic.

Maybe Bragg is holding off the unsealing until April Fools’ Day. That would elicit the perfect response. Are you kidding?

The New York charges, whatever they are, constitute an absurd footnote to the cloud the left created around Trump’s presidency every day he was in office. He was the first president to be alleged to be a Russian stooge by the deep thinkers of the American establishment. He was the first president to be briefed under false pretenses by the Director of the FBI. He was the first president to be impeached twice. He was the first president to be acquitted twice. The terrible firsts accumulate.

And the Trump follies continue in other investigations. The farcical nature of the New York proceedings may color any indictment that is handed up in those investigations, or perhaps the left will achieve the desired effect of piling on.

They find Trump an irresistible obsession. They will not let him go. They perceive him to be a serious political threat and, as we have seen, anything goes in his case. I’m pretty sure it’s not their concern about equal treatment under law that moves them. As the explorer Richard Burton said of himself: “the Devil drives.” Unfortunately, they lack Burton’s self-awareness.

The consequences of this particular first are unpredictable. While the troops may naturally rally behind Trump in opposition to a transparently political prosecution, I wonder how Trump might find this effect of use. With the opening of the baseball season I saw a possible crossover effect in my sleep overnight. I wondered if he might hold a bat day at his next rally and hand out mini baseball bats with his name inscribed on the barrel as mementos for the first 10,000 fans to enter the stadium. I would want one of those myself. That much I can tell you.