Trump Insists He ‘Has’ to Attend Trial—Then Admits He’ll Skip It for Golf
"I HAVE TO BE HERE!!!"Alex Nguyen
Breaking News Intern
Updated Oct. 19, 2023 1:55PM EDT / Published Oct. 19, 2023 1:45PM EDT
Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Donald Trump openly made a false statement outside the courtroom of his fraud trial on Wednesday and then contradicted himself just minutes later. The former president claimed that his New York trial was preventing him from campaigning for the 2024 election. “I have to be here instead of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, lots of other great places,” Trump complained. “They want me to be here.” But in actuality, Trump is voluntarily attending his trial.To make matters worse, he then told reporters that he would skip court on Thursday because he had “a very big professional golf tournament at Doral”—meaning the only person keeping Trump off the campaign trail is the former president himself.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has accused Trump of overvaluing his assets in order to get better deals on loans and insurance. Judge Arthur Engoron, who has given Trump a gag order for attacking a clerk on social media, ruled late last month that Trump had committed fraud. The trial is now focused on allegations of falsifying business documents.
