Judge Tanya Chutkan has ordered President Trump to shut up, but Trump intends to keep speaking, even if it means imprisonment:

‘They think the only way they can catch me is to stop me from speaking. They want to take away my voice,’ Trump told a crowd Monday in Clive, Iowa.

‘But what they don’t understand is that I am willing to go to jail if that’s what it takes for our country to win and become a democracy again.’

There might be a better way—actually, two better ways.

Emma Goldman, a notorious political figure of the early 20th century, christened a unique way of embarrassing officials promoting censorship. (Now, this is not to suggest Trump echo her philosophies whatsoever.) When New York City police announced that an anti-war gathering would be prohibited if Goldman were to address the crowd; she agreed to comply. At the end of the rally, Goldman appeared onstage with a handkerchief stuffed in her mouth. It brought down the house.

Ironically, the move said more than a speech could have, and it was remembered a century later as a “this day in history” event.

Trump, endowed with a rebellious spirit himself, could conceive of a new gesture, to speak volumes without speaking.

However, he also needs to speak, and a surrogate can do it for him. There’s a perfect Trump fill-in available—the brilliant Trump impersonator Shawn Farash, aka Captain Deplorable, seen here leaving a message for Rep. Adam Schiff—the biggest, most beautiful message Schiff has ever received, believe me.

Imagine Trump featuring his imitator at upcoming rallies, perhaps introducing him as a Trump family member: “There are certain things I'm not allowed to talk about, but my adopted son has a few things to get off his chest.” The Trump soundalike could rail against Deranged Thug Jack Smith, Trump-hating Judge Chutkan, and Crooked Joe Biden. Not to mention Fani “Whatchu Talkin’ ‘Bout” Willis.

It would not be much different from what Trump is already doing. An unnamed spokesperson reacting to the gag order sounded just like him:

‘Today’s decision is an absolute abomination and another partisan knife stuck in the heart of our Democracy by Crooked Joe Biden, who was granted the right to muzzle his political opponent, the leading candidate for the Presidency in 2024, and the most popular political leader in America, President Donald J. Trump,’ the spokesperson said….

Making a joke out of the gag order would be in keeping with Trump’s strategy of often using humor to ridicule the laughable charges against him.

Image: Michael Vadon, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, unaltered.