It’s all a big joke to them.

Democrats, the left, and all of their allies know this is a big, sick joke, but it doesn’t matter. They’re going to smirk in your face, and you’re going to have to take it.

The above takeaway is the biggest takeaway from a viral clip of the judge presiding over one of former President Donald Trump’s many ongoing legal entanglements.

Trump and his legal team had their day in court today in Manhattan, as the former president tries to fight a civil suit that, effectively, claims that Trump and his family defrauded investors by overvaluing the worth of businesses and properties.

The whole stunt is being instigated by far-left Democrat and New York attorney general, Letitia James.

Presiding Judge Arthur Engoron ruled last week that Trump did, in fact, commit fraud, per Fox News, with Monday’s trial meant to convince Engoron otherwise.

If a viral clip of the presiding judge is anything to go by, it’s looking bleak for Team MAGA:

(If you don’t care for all the fluff, you can see the specific moment about 40 seconds into the clip.)

In the above clip, like any self-aggrandizing movie star, Engoron noticed that the cameras, and thus the spotlight, was squarely on him.

What did Judge Engoron do? No, he didn’t sit sternly during the opening proceedings or even bothered to exhibit an air of neutrality.

Engoron opted to attempt a smile, but appeared to stop just short at a smirk.

Think about the optics of that: You’re in court with the judge who is going to decide your legal fate, a very serious matter that impacts American citizens and the American legal justice system every day.

Instead of treating the matter with the gravity it needed (indeed, as heavy as any legal case can be, this one involves a former president and leading GOP presidential candidate), Engoron treated the matter like a conman who has found his mark.

Social media users on X, formerly Twitter, were quick to call out this “clown show.”

Making matters so much worse for the former president, Trump all but called that this sort of charade was inevitable on Truth Social last week.

In a lengthy statement posted to his fledgling social media app on Sept. 26, Trump tore into both James and Engoron:

“I have been unfairly sued by the Trump Hating Democrat Attorney General of New York State, Letitia James, over the false fact that I inflated my Financial Statements in order to borrow money from Banks, etc. The Judge in the case, Arthur F. Engoron, refused to allow this case to go to the ‘Commercial Division,’ where it belongs, because he is a Trump Hater beyond even A.G James who campaigned against me spewing horrible inflammatory statements which are False & Defamatory,” Trump posted Tuesday. “I am not even allowed a Jury!”

(This civil suit trial is a non-jury trial, something Trump has unsuccessfully fought against.)

In a follow-up statement, Trump blasted Engoron as “DERANGED.”

Given that the man decided that the best response while sitting in court, while presiding over a very serious legal matter that could implicate a former sitting president, was to haphazardly smirk for the cameras — which, at best, could be described as inappropriate — “deranged” may not be that far off.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.