WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT RIGHT-WINGERS EXPECT COURAGE AND HONESTY FROM TRUMP?

Chris Truax of The Bulwark doesn't understand Donald Trump or Republicans very well:

Trump Shouldn’t Testify Before the Jan. 6th Committee—But He Might

... If it were anybody else, there would be no doubt that Trump would challenge the subpoena in court. But it’s Trump, so all bets are off—especially where his ego is at stake.... If Trump really wants to get his side of the story out, what better format than testifying before the committee? In the current political climate, this confrontation could well turn out to be the most-watched television event in American history.

There’s even a sort of political logic to it. Why shouldn’t Trump come forward and tell America what happened on that day? If he thinks the committee is twisting the record, now is his chance to set it straight. Not only does America have a right to hear his version of events, he should want to tell his side of the story. Or is he really that afraid of Liz Cheney?

By trying to dodge the subpoena, Trump would look weak, something that doesn’t sit well either with MAGA world or Trump himself. It would only be a matter of time before the Lincoln Project released a new ad with the sound of chickens clucking and aired it on Fox and Friends. By contrast, nothing would do more to strengthen Trump’s 2024 chances than staring down the committee just like Hillary Clinton did when she spent eleven hours testifying about Benghazi. And Trump would only have to testify for two hours, tops.

Truax is imagining that Republican voters care about basic virtues such as courage and honesty. They don't. Here's what they care about:

1. Winning.
2. Hurting their enemies, and making them howl in outrage.

That's it. That's the complete list.

Trump knows that the committee would pin him down with facts and evidence. He knows he's too damn lazy to pull a Hillary Clinon and go into a hostile committee room with a well-crafted argument and a solid command of the facts. He also knows he's guilty as hell.

Bu more imporant, Trump knows that failing to testify doesn't make him look weak in the eyes of the voters he's trying to reach. They don't see his inevitable refusal to testify as a lack of courage. That's not how they're looking at this. All they care about is: What will make Liz Cheney howl? What will make MSNBC commentators angry and frustrated? Dodging the subpoena will accomplish those goals, so it will help Trump with Republican voters. Testifying (and ineviably being made to look weak and guilty at times by the members of the committee) wouldn't "strengthen Trump’s 2024 chances," at least in the primaries. Not testifying will. Merely showing up would be conceding the legitimacy of an investigation into Trump's conduct. By definition on the right, all investigations of Trump are illegitimate.

So of course he won't testify, not even for the ratings. He won't risk looking bad. He'll just retreat to the GOP bubble, where his lack of courage will be perceived as strength.