A few days before the jury-selection process began in Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York, the former president’s political operation sent out a message that appeared designed to generate some excitement — and some possible campaign contributions. The headline read, “72 hours until all hell breaks loose.”

Three days later, all hell did not break loose. As the proceedings got underway, there was a “smattering“ of people who showed up to express their support for the Republican, but overall, the protest was a dud.

Of course, it was at least possible that the jury-selection process wasn’t a compelling hook for the suspected felon’s die-hard fans. Maybe this week, as the trial begins in earnest, Trump’s followers would show up in large numbers? The defendant certainly seemed eager to raise that possibility: In a message he published to his social media platform yesterday morning, the presumptive GOP nominee wrote, “GO OUT AND PEACEFULLY PROTEST. RALLY BEHIND MAGA. SAVE OUR COUNTRY!”

The New York Times reported that Trump was “evidently not happy” when few followed his directive, ignoring the fact that “he wanted a circus to accompany his trial.”

The scene that confronted him as he approached the dingy courthouse at 100 Centre Street was underwhelming. Across the street, at Collect Pond Park, the designated site for protesters during the trial, only a handful of Trump supporters had gathered, and the number would not grow much throughout the morning. … [T]he streets around the courthouse on Monday were chaos-free — well-patrolled and relatively quiet.

The article added that there were some Trump supporters gathered in the park across from the courthouse, but they were “outnumbered by Trump detractors.”

To the chagrin of the former president, this keeps happening.

Circling back to our recent coverage, as Trump’s post-defeat legal woes intensified, his rhetoric about his supporters taking to the streets grew louder. In January 2022, for example, amidst speculation about possible indictments, the Republican said at a rally that if he were to face charges, “I hope we are going to have in this country the biggest protests we have ever had.”

In September 2022, Trump delivered a related ominous message, saying that if he were indicted, the United States would face “problems … the likes of which perhaps we’ve never seen.”

The vague predictions turned into directives last year. In March 2023, as the former president prepared for an indictment in New York, he turned to his social media platform, writing, “PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!” In case that was too subtle, Trump added a few hours later, “IT’S TIME!!! … WE JUST CAN’T ALLOW THIS ANYMORE. … WE MUST SAVE AMERICA! PROTEST, PROTEST, PROTEST!!!”

Around the same time, the Republican derided talk of “peaceful” demonstrations, while suggesting that if he were indicted in New York, it might cause “potential death [and] destruction” that “could be catastrophic for our Country.”

Though it seemed as if Trump envisioned mass groups of red-capped followers taking to the streets, those calls were largely ignored. Some supporters turned out in Manhattan around the time of his first arrest, but the gatherings were, by any fair measure, underwhelming duds.

After his classified documents scandal led to his second indictment, the former president again called on his followers to rally behind him — Trump wrote, “SEE YOU IN MIAMI ON TUESDAY!!!” on his social media platform — but the numbers were again small.

Local law enforcement was prepared for crowds of up to 50,000 people. The actual crowd was closer to 500.

Two months later, at a Trump arraignment in Washington, D.C., a “handful” of his supporters showed up to register their dissatisfaction.

Yesterday, the turnout was, once again, largely a joke. So much for “PROTEST, PROTEST, PROTEST!!!”

As for why, exactly, these demonstrations have failed to materialize, there are plenty of competing explanations, starting with the fact that the Justice Department’s extensive prosecutions of Jan. 6 rioters have not gone unnoticed among the former president’s most ardent backers.

But I’m also reminded of an analysis my MSNBC colleague Zeeshan Aleem wrote last year.

“It may have to do with post-Jan. 6 wariness of getting in trouble if a pro-Trump protest spirals out of control,” Aleem wrote. “Perhaps conspiracy theories about the government laying traps for peaceful protesters scared them out of showing up. Maybe Trump finally has exhausted his base with his constant hysteria. … Whatever the reasons may be, Trump is looking weak.”

This post updates our related earlier coverage.