In a bizarre rant the day after his criminal conviction, disgraced felon and 2020 Presidential loser Donald Trump said that he wanted to testify during his month-long Manhattan trial.
He also called Joe Biden, his presumptive opponent in the 2024 general election, a “fascist” and claimed that the Democratic candidate wanted to prevent people from driving cars.
Trump, along with many other Republicans, have moaned since he was convicted Thursday night. He has repeatedly claimed that the trial was a “witch hunt” and a partisan attack by Biden. The case was brought against Trump by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, however, who has no link to the federal government. He continued to make these claims during his Friday speech at his eponymous tower in Mid-town Manhattan.
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Trump made the speech with no teleprompter, rambling off speech and jumping between unrelated topics with little rhyme or reason. It is unclear what the point of this speech was, as he did not say anything he had not said before.
The president notably did not testify at his own criminal trial. He told the crowd on Friday that he was “upset” with his lawyers for how they handled the case, adding that he wanted to testify.
“It was very unfair,” he said of the trial. He continuously referenced a frequent pain point, the gag order he was subject to to prevent him from harassing witnesses or the jury on social media. He was slapped with 10 gag order violations, racking up thousands of dollars worth of fines. He was even threatened with jail time if he continued to break the rules to him.
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“The judge was a tyrant,” he continued, once again targeting Justice Juan Merchan, who oversaw the case and issued the gag order.
“[I’ve] never seen anyone treated like that by a judge,” he went on to say. “He’s conflicted, and he’s a crooked judge.”
Merchan became a popular target for Trump in recent weeks, as he is one of the few figures in the trial who was not covered by the order.
The convicted felon could face up to four years of prison for each of the 34 counts he was convicted of. In total, he could serve a maximum sentence of 20 years. However, because he has a clean criminal record, is old at 77, and did not commit a violent crime, many do not believe he will face a prison sentence.
Trump’s legal team is expected to appeal the conviction. They have until June 13 to file for an appeal.
Supporters and detractors of the President appeared in Mid-town on Friday, to either show support, protest against, or gloat to the felon after the bad week he has had.
He was convicted for his role in covering up payments made by his lawyer, Michael Cohen, to the lawyer of Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. We he reimbursed Cohen for the expenses, he concealed the reason for the payments as “legal fees”. Bragg, and now a jury of his peers, considered this to be felony business fraud.
Cohen, a Trump admirer who later became one of his biggest foes, served 13 months in prison for his role in the scheme. He was a key witness for the prosecution in this case.
The former president still backs himself to win the 2024 election, which he may be in jail for. He repeatedly claimed that November 5 is the most important day for his case, referring to election day. Trump is still allowed to run for president despite the conviction, and could even win the election from prison.
