ANDREW MCCARTHY: Trump’s Propensity and Silence Decided the Case. “The verdict proves: You can’t beat something with nothing, at least in a civil case. While Trump has complained that he was silenced by the judge (he wasn’t), the fact is that he declined to attend the trial and testify, opting instead to play golf in Europe. It had to be infuriating to the jurors that Trump blew off the trial when they had to put their lives on hold to attend. More to the point, though, in a civil case, the litigants are expected to testify. If a defendant declines to testify, the jury may draw a negative inference — that he had no compelling defense, or was unwilling to have his story and his credibility subjected to cross-examination.”