In 2005, standing publicly beside Michael Jackson was not a neutral act. The trial was the biggest media story on the planet. Sponsors had disappeared. Former friends had stopped returning calls.
The entertainment industry had effectively decided which side of history it wanted to be on before a single verdict was reached.
DONALD TRUMP CHOSE DIFFERENTLY.
At the height of the accusations, Trump went on record openly defending Michael Jackson. He called him a friend. He said he did not believe Michael was a child molester.
And perhaps more significant than any public statement, he continued to allow Michael access to his children without hesitation.
Not privately, quietly, behind closed doors. Publicly. In a way that said everything about where he stood.
Trump speaks publicly about Michael Jackson
For his supporters it was a remarkable act of loyalty. A powerful man using his platform to defend someone the rest of the world had already decided to destroy.
Trump had known Michael personally for years. He had watched him around children, and he had seen what the media had not bothered to show its audience.
BUT OTHERS HAVE NEVER QUITE MADE PEACE WITH THAT PICTURE. A man with the resources and instinct to protect his own children at all costs chose not only to defend Michael Jackson but to keep him close to his family during the most controversial period of his entire life.
The full story of Michael Jackson’s 2005 trial
Was that the judgment of someone who genuinely knew the truth? Or was it simply two powerful men in a world where power has always operated by its own set of rules?
Michael Jackson was acquitted on all fourteen charges. The jury saw the evidence that the public never did and reached their conclusion unanimously.
What people make of Trump’s loyalty during those years likely depends less on the facts of the case and more on what they already believe about both men.
That conversation is still happening today.