Trump Says Court Staff at Arraignment Cried and Apologized
Former President Trump intentionally crafted a spectacle around his arrest and arraignment last week, and in his first public interview following his booking, he’s leaning into the dramatics.
The former president sat down with Tucker Carlson for an extended interview that is set to air in full Tuesday night. In a preview clip released by the network, Trump painted an image of tearful incredulity from the staff at the Manhattan courthouse.
“I’ll tell you, people were crying,” Trump told Fox host Carlson on Tuesday. “People that worked there, professionally work there, that have no problems putting in murderers and they see everybody […] they were crying. They were actually crying. They said, ‘I’m sorry.’”
Trump was indicted on 34 counts of falsification of business records on March 30. The charges stem from a 2016 hush money payment the former president allegedly made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in the weeks leading up to his election as president. On April 4, Trump surrendered himself for arraignment in Manhattan, becoming the first president in U.S. history to be charged in a criminal case.
As previously reported by Rolling Stone, Trump and his allies intentionally sought to create a scene around his arraignment. One source claimed that the former president wanted “kind of a Jesus Christ thing,” in order to send a message of political martyrdom to his supporters.
Since news of the indictment broke, Trump has been railing against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Democrats, accusing them of committing election interference by charging him.
The president’s claims have been bolstered by Fox. Despite having been caught texting his coworkers about how much he absolutely loathes Trump, Carlson has launched an impassioned counteroffensive on behalf of the former president. “The prosecution of Donald Trump is election interference. He’s the Republican frontrunner,” Carlson told viewers in a broadcast following news of the indictment.
In another instance, the Fox host fear mongered that charges against the president were a harbinger of a “political purge” against Republicans.
The full interview will air Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET on Fox News. If the previews are anything to go by, Trump will be given free rein to build on the claims of persecution he has already made, with little to no pushback from Carlson.