Trump Rants That Porn Star Hush Money Trial Is an ‘Assault on America’

Nikki McCann Ramirez
·3 min read
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Donald Trump is making history — and not in a good way. The former president appeared in Manhattan court on Monday, becoming the first-ever American president to stand trial on criminal charges.

Jury selection has begun in Trump’s trial on charges of falsifying business documents related to his 2016 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. Given that Trump is a defendant, he is required to be present for the entirety of the proceedings. The gravity of such an event doesn’t seem to have much impact on him, though. He made clear that his in-court appearances will serve as a soapbox for his 2024 campaign and his efforts to portray himself as the victim of wrongful political persecution.

“This is an assault on America. Nothing like this has ever happened before. There has never been anything like it,” Trump told reporters awaiting his arrival at the Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday. “This is political persecution, this a persecution like never before. Nobody has ever seen anything like it, and again it is a case that should have never been brought. It’s an assault on America, and that’s why I’m very proud to be here.”

“This is really an attack on a political opponent. That’s all it is. So I’m very honored to be here, thank you very much.” Trump added.

The former president spent the hours ahead of his arrival bashing the case against him on Truth Social.

“When I walk into that courtroom, I know I will have the love of 200 million Americans behind me, and I will be FIGHTING for the FREEDOM of 325 MILLION AMERICANS!,” Trump wrote, grossly inflating the amount of support he has amongst voters (much like he inflated the value of his assets).

“Why didn’t they bring this totally discredited lawsuit 7 years ago??? Election Interference!” Trump wrote in another post, repeating claims that the various criminal and civil cases against him are intended to tank his campaign for the presidency. The former president also accused Judge Juan Merchan of leveling an “unconstitutional” gag order against him when he barred Trump from publicly attacking witnesses, prosecutors, court staff, and jurors involved in the trial.

At one point Trump promoted a post falsely claiming that Orthodox Jews were being intentionally excluded from the jury pool as they would potentially be unable to participate in Friday sessions, as Shabbat begins on Friday evenings. Judge Merchan clarified at the trial’s opening that court sessions would not conflict with the religious observances of potential jurors


Even as things got underway in the courtroom, Trump’s Truth Social account continued to post and promote links on his profile, as well as re-posting videos lauding his golfing. As the trial formally began, Trump’s campaign sent out a text message to prospective voters calling on “ONE MILLION MAGA PATRIOTS” to donate.

“I’M IN COURT NOW! They’re trying to DESTROY ME – BUT YOU CAN STOP THEM!” The message read. While Trump is happy to rake in the cash from his loyal followers, it won’t be their donations that decide his face, but a jury of his peers.

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