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Liberation for Trump: With legal assistance, Trump escapes financial ruin. But no sooner have they been saved than the next trial beckons.
NEW YORK - Within an hour, one court rescued Donald Trump from impending financial ruin - while another scheduled a trial that would begin at the height of the campaign season.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee took the rapid turns on Monday (March 25) with his usual defiance and bluster. In a split second, he attacked a row of judges, praised another judge, ignored reporters and then suddenly turned to address them, brushing off hecklers and greeting the cheers of onlookers in the streets.
Trump's election campaign: more chaotic than ever - and court hearings instead of speeches
The surreal series of about-faces capped another chaotic day in Trump's 2024 campaign that bore little resemblance to traditional campaign activities. Trump last held a rally on March 16 while his campaign was juggling an overhaul of the Republican National Committee (RNC). The 77-year-old had not yet announced where or when the next election campaign date would take place. He spent the weekend golfing in South Florida before holding a contentious court hearing and a wide-ranging news conference in New York that was broadcast live on most major networks.
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Trump portrays himself as the victim of a political witch hunt by the Democrats
The unusual schedule highlighted Trump's desire to maximize the publicity of his four separate criminal trials. He used it to portray himself as a victim of political persecution, as did his supporters who stormed the Capitol after the official confirmation of his latest election defeat. This strategy helped Trump solidify his support in the Republican primaries, but its effectiveness is less clear in the upcoming presidential election with President Joe Biden.
And as much as Trump's team chooses this approach, it also has to contend with the unfamiliar reality of juggling court dates, the election campaign, serious criminal charges and a frightening cash crunch.
Trump's own fortunes under pressure - Can Truth Social save him?
Trump's personal financial situation is also under pressure. He scored another success on Monday when his company Truth Social received approval to trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange starting Tuesday. Trump's stake is worth billions on paper, but he is not allowed to sell it for six months.
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Former President Donald Trump arrives at 40 Wall Street in Manhattan criminal court after his New York hush money trial. His trial will begin on April 15, 2024. © Derek French/Imago
Monday's looming deadline to pay his more than $450 million bail after losing a civil fraud case against his companies did not appear to dampen Trump's spirits. Although, according to his lawyers, he cannot finance this, Trump found reason to celebrate over the weekend. He posted a video on Truth Social of himself jumping over a water feature to land on a putting green - noting, "That's a good shot" - and then cheering about it Awarded the “Club Championship” Trophy & the “Senior Club Championship” Trophy at his own club in West Palm Beach.
Biden teases X against Trump: Ex-president wins his own golf tournament
Biden appeared amused by Trump's "performance" on What an accomplishment.” But Trump's social media posts took a dark turn Monday morning as he made his way to New York criminal court. He was on his way to attend a hearing in the criminal case in which he is accused of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to a pornographic film actress in the run-up to the 2016 election.
He railed against both that case and the fraud trial, calling it "rigged," "fraudulent" and "corrupt." The actions were undertaken by elected Democrats - Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York Attorney General Letitia James - but Trump has provided no evidence of coordination with the White House.
His campaign sent out a fundraising email: “Hands off Trump Tower!” And Trump posted a message he said he received from a supporter this morning in which he compared his ordeal to that of Jesus Christ.
Trump uses court date for election campaign staging
Trump faced the cameras as he took his seat in the courtroom and watched as the judge, Juan Merchan, reacted visibly agitatedly to the former president's lawyers. The lawyers argued that the hearing should be postponed to review documents from a related federal case. The judge disagreed and took exception to her suggestions of prosecutorial misconduct, which may even have involved Merchan himself, and which he viewed as unfounded. Both Merchan and Trump became visibly frustrated.
Trump storms out of the courtroom – and claims he will pay the $175 million “very quickly.”
As tempers heated up, the judge took a break, and it wasn't hard for any observer to predict that he would rule against Trump when the trial resumed. The former president stormed out. Reporters shouted his name in the hallway. He stopped abruptly, turned around and seemed to consider for a moment whether he should answer the questions being asked. Instead, he said, “Thank you very much,” and left the room behind closed doors.
Almost immediately after his departure, it was revealed that Trump had received a reprieve in the other case: the appeals court granted his request to reduce his bail to $175 million, which he must pay within ten days.
After the break in the meeting, Trump appeared again and wanted to address the press. “I respect the decision very much,” he said, promising to pay the $175 million “very quickly,” but also criticizing Judge Arthur Engoron.
The first criminal trial against Trump starts on April 15th
As he returned to the courtroom for his criminal hearing, Trump gave a thumbs up and smiled. But he soon frowned and shook his head: Merchan sided with the prosecution and ordered the criminal trial to begin on April 15 - the first against a former president. “See you on the 15th,” Merchan said as he left the bench.
In the hallway, Trump walked toward the exit, then turned on his heel to speak to the reporters. He said he would appeal the verdict, although trial dates are generally not appealable. “This should not be allowed,” he said. “They have decided to wait until now, just before the elections, so that I cannot campaign.”
Then he turned back to the other case, the good news of the day for him, and changed his tone. “It will be an honor to report on the other decision,” he said. “We really appreciate the decision.”
It's criminal what they're doing and it's something that's never happened before in this country
Donald Trump, former president, on the current legal proceedings against him.
Trump dances to the next court date and is insulted: “criminal”
Soon his motorcade rolled downtown to Wall Street, where tourists flocked from Trinity Church, Federal Hall and the Charging Bull Statue to see the next big attraction. Someone complained about Trump as he got out of his limousine. “Criminals!” shouted another.
In another marble lobby, much shinier than the courthouse and decorated with American flags, Trump repeated his attacks on prosecutors, calling them politically motivated, and he repeatedly thanked the appeals court for reducing bail.
In another marble hall, much shinier than the courthouse's and decorated with American flags, Trump was visibly upset. A small group of reporters were waiting when the former president was stopped outside, according to people familiar with the matter. He began speaking, repeating his attacks on prosecutors as politically motivated and repeatedly thanking the appeals court for reducing bail.
Trump is outraged - and Biden leads in campaign funds
“It is criminal what they are doing and it has never happened before in this country,” he said. “I don’t know how you can have a trial that takes place in the middle of an election. That's not fair. Unfair. That’s not fair at all.”
Biden's campaign pounced on Trump, calling him "weak and desperate," signaling their new lines of attack. “America deserves better than a weak, confused and tired Donald Trump,” Biden campaign spokesman James Singer said in a statement Monday about the presumptive Republican nominee’s day.
Donald Trump in court. Once again. © IMAGO/BRENDAN MCDERMID
Trump claimed he had enough money to secure the bail but would rather use the money for his campaign. A reporter pointed out that Trump hadn't put his own money into his campaign since 2016 and asked whether he would start doing so again. Trump's advisers have acknowledged the urgent need to catch up with Democrats on fundraising, as Biden is clearly in the lead in monetary contributions. The Biden campaign reported $71 million in cash on hand at the end of February, while Trump had $33.5 million, a gap that has widened since January.
Trump does not rule out accepting money from foreign investors for his courts
“It’s none of your business, honestly,” Trump complained. Federal law requires candidates to disclose contributions over $200, as well as their own loans and donations to their campaigns. Although foreign donations are not allowed in federal campaigns, Trump did not rule out accepting money from foreign governments to cover his bail. “I don’t,” he said. “I think you might be allowed to do that. I don't know... you could do that. But I don't have to borrow money. I have a lot of money.”
Trump insists he is innocent – and would testify in court
He said he still doubts the trial will proceed, but if it does, “I would have no problem testifying. I didn’t do anything wrong.” Then he went back outside. He waved in the direction of a vulgar taunt against Biden that echoed from the skyscraper canyon. Trump waved to the streaming press and seemed to consider whether he should answer any more questions, but then he got into his black SUV.
“Keep fighting for us!” shouted a man from behind the police line. Trump stuck his head out over the open car door. “I will,” he said. Devlin Barrett and Shayna Jacobs in New York and Marianne LeVine and Josh Dawsey in Washington contributed to this report.
To the author
Isaac Arnsdorf
is a national political reporter for The
Washington Post
, covering former President Donald Trump, the Make America Great Again political movement, and the Republican Party.
We are currently testing machine translations. This article was automatically translated from English into German.
This article was first published in English on March 26, 2024 at the “Washingtonpost.com” - as part of a cooperation, it is now also available in translation to readers of the IPPEN.MEDIA portals.