CNN’s Kristen Holmes fact-checked a key part of former President Donald Trump’s post-trial rant on Monday and poured cold water on the idea that Trump’s campaign schedule has been dramatically altered by him needing to be in court.
“Inside the court today, Trump did hold back visible reactions, which maybe is a bit of a contrast to what we had seen in some of the jury selection days. You know, when he was admonished for by the judge for muttering under his breath very clearly when one juror was up for consideration, but outside the court when he walked out today, he did have plenty to say about the witness testimony today, and about how the trial, he says is cutting into what he wants to be doing with his time right now, which is campaigning,” began anchor Erin Burnett.
Burnett then showed a clip from Trump’s remarks, “This is what took me off and takes me off the campaign trail, because I should be in Georgia now. I should be in Florida now. I should be in a lot of different places right now campaigning. And I’m sitting here and this will go in for a long time. It’s very unfair.”
“And just to be clear, in this trial, criminal trial, Trump is required to be there. In the other trials, we have emphasized that it was a decision. So we’d say, oh, I, I have to be here and not the campaign trail. That wasn’t true. But in this case, it is. Kristen Holmes is outside the courthouse in Manhattan. Obviously covers Trump and the Trump campaign. So, Kristen, how concerned is Trump’s team about this trial schedule, which minus Wednesdays is anticipated to go for what, at least five, six weeks or more?” Burnett added.
“Well, look, just to be clear, Donald Trump, even on a good week, is not campaigning more than two days. We have not seen that since the primary,” Holmes replied, adding:
Even during that cycle, he occasionally had several events, but it was very rare. So that is not really impacting the schedule. But I will tell you, talking to senior advisers, particularly now that it’s dawned on them that they are resigned to the fact he is in this courtroom nonstop for four days a week. There is a little bit of concern. We have seen Donald Trump utilizing the cameras. But when I talk to senior advisers, they’re just not sure that that’s going to be enough.
Now, we saw him and his team celebrating after he had this politically motivated stop at a Harlem bodega last week, but then they were dealt a blow when he was supposed to appear in North Carolina for a rally that was then canceled for weather. Because there’s not a lot of wiggle room here, there are only two real days that he can do any sort of campaigning, any sort of fundraising right now. So we talked to various advisers. They tell us two things. One, you have the people who continue to insist that this is going to be good for him, that this is going to help with fundraising like we saw during primary season. This is going to help secure voters.
But there are others who really aren’t so sure. They know that we are in uncharted territory. They’re not entirely sure how this is going to be managed on the campaign trail, and whether or not this could actually sway voters towards Donald Trump or away from Donald Trump. That’s a big question for them. So right now you’re seeing his team really huddling together, trying to figure out how exactly they are going to manage this schedule, looking at possible events within the New York area. But of course, an area in New York that would possibly be more popular for Donald Trump or more conducive to having Donald Trump there, like Staten Island, for example. But now they’re really trying to come up with those ideas that they hadn’t really gone through before.
Watch the clip above.
