OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former President Donald Trump got what some would characterize as a hero’s welcome from a large crowd as he pulled up to what an online video report described as a bodega in Harlem after his second day in a Manhattan courtroom for his hush money trial.
In the video, the crowds can be seen cheering for the 45th president as his motorcade pulls up to the destination. At one point, the crowd starts chanting, “Trump! Trump! Trump!” and “Four more years!” Crowds also chanted, “USA! USA! USA!”
Throughout the video, Trump is also seen interacting with the crowd, shaking hands, and talking with various supporters about several different topics as Secret Service agents kept a close watch. He also gave interviews to several news outlets, making remarks about the trial and telling reporters that a bodega association invited him.
“I respect them, and they respect me. They want law and order, they have a lot of crime…where their stores are being robbed,” he said.
At another point, Trump said former President “Jimmy Carter should be happy” that Joe Biden became president because, according to the 45th commander-in-chief, Carter’s presidency was viewed as the worst in modern history until Biden.
As he was getting into his motorcade, President Trump was surrounded by cops who smiled and returned compliments as he could be heard saying, “You guys are the best.” A clip of the interaction ends with Trump calling on the group of officers to join him on the sidewalk for a group photo.
WATCH:
Trump genuinely loves the NYPD
They’ve been with him from the start, all the way back in the 70’s when he was a young man, with big dreams, in a spiraling city
They’re still by his side as he’s being persecuted in the city he built
This is wholesome pic.twitter.com/TCEJdgFJkg
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) April 16, 2024
Meanwhile, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg filed a motion on Tuesday asking the court to find former President Donald Trump in contempt of court for allegedly breaking the partial gag order in the criminal case in New York.
In the Tuesday filing, prosecutors cited the former president’s recent posts on Truth Social, where he was “attacking two known witnesses — Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels,” according to the filing.
“Prosecutors argue that the social media posts violate the partial gag order Trump is under in the trial, which prohibits him from making public statements on possible witnesses in the case. Prosecutors also asked that Trump be fined $3,000 for violations of the gag order in three separate social media posts,” Axios reported.
“Defendant is not above the law, and he cannot simply disregard judicial orders that upset him,” Bragg wrote in the motion, which was filed on the second day of jury selection in the trial.
“Defendant’s recent social media posts plainly violate the order because they target known witnesses concerning their participation in this criminal proceeding,” Bragg wrote.
Trump, who denies any wrongdoing in the New York criminal case, has repeatedly criticized it as a politically motivated witch hunt.
Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over Trump’s New York criminal trial, has scheduled a hearing for April 23 to consider prosecutors’ request to hold the former president in contempt.
On Monday, following the first day of the trial, CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin weighed in, saying the former president got some “good news” from the judge.
Toobin spoke about Merchan’s ruling to keep the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape from the jury, saying it was an “appropriate decision for Trump’s benefit.”
He mentioned Karen McDougal, an American model and former Playboy Playmate who gained attention for her alleged affair with Trump in 2006, shortly after his marriage to Melania Trump. McDougal claimed that she had a consensual relationship with Trump, which he denied. The affair reportedly took place over several months and was kept secret through a payment from the National Enquirer’s parent company, American Media, Inc. McDougal later sued to be released from a non-disclosure agreement related to the affair, and the lawsuit was settled in 2018.
“That‘s not what this case is about. Both Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal claim that this was consensual sex, and I thought keeping that away from the jury, even though they probably already know about it, was an appropriate decision for Trump‘s benefit,” Toobin said.
