• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, April 19, 2024

Perchance to dream. If this week's news cycle started that way, it ended with more of a nightmare as an as-yet-unidentified individual set himself on fire outside the New York City courthouse, and Trump's hush money trial hasn't even started yet.

While much of the week's political news was dominated by jokes about the Freedom Caucus' FART acronym, as well as late night talk show jokes and internet memes about sleepy Don's courtroom nap, the unexplained self-immolation transformed the carnival-like spectacle into more of a horror show.

At press-time, it was unclear who the individual is, what his motive was and whether the incident had anything to do with Trump's trial itself.