Trump unleashes on 'fascists' in Dem party after 'very good day' of trial
Former President Donald Trump slammed the Democratic Party as a group of "fascists" following a "very good day" in court, which included continued testimony from Michael Cohen.
"'The problem for Democrats is that the extensive polling now shows that the voters see through their scam and don't like what's going on,'" Trump said outside of court Tuesday afternoon, reading an excerpt from Fox News contributor Charlie Hurt. "'Watching 100,000 enthusiastic people gather along the boardwalk in a New Jersey beach this Saturday… to support President Trump on Saturday evening, gives you some idea how terrified Democrats are of Trump.'"
Trump interjected: "I don't think they're terrified of anything. They're fascists."
Trump continued reading other news excerpts slamming the case as "election interference," and went on to describe Tuesday as a "very good day" in court.
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"We had a very good day. I think we're exposing this scam for what it is," he said.
The trial Tuesday continued with testimony from former Trump attorney Michael Cohen. The case focuses on Cohen paying former pornographic performer Stormy Daniels $130,000 to allegedly quiet her claims of an alleged 2006 extramarital affair with the then-real estate tycoon. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels.
Prosecutors allege that the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen and fraudulently logged the payments as legal expenses. Prosecutors are working to prove that Trump falsified records with the intent to commit or conceal a second crime. Trump has pleaded not guilty in the case and has maintained his innocence.
Cohen faced cross-examination Tuesday, where he was peppered with questions from Trump's legal team regarding Cohen's numerous TikTok videos, including ones where he called Trump "crying little b----" and "dictator douche bag." Cohen told the court that he struggles to sleep at night, and that posting TikTok videos regarding Trump served as "an out."
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Trump defense attorney Todd Blanche asked Cohen if he also regularly commented on a podcast about wanting to see Trump convicted in this case. Cohen responded that he probably said that, as he wants to see Trump held accountable.
Cohen's testimony Tuesday follows Monday's remarks, when he detailed to the court that he used his own funds to pay Daniels in 2016, as well as admitting to the court that he secretly recorded Trump on his iPhone that same year.
Tuesday was another action-packed day for the case, including the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division issuing an order rejecting the Trump team's attempt to end a gag order that the 45th president has repeatedly slammed as "unconstitutional."
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"We find that Justice Merchan properly weighed petitioner’s First Amendment Rights against the court’s historical commitment to ensuring the fair administration of justice in criminal cases, and the right of persons related or tangentially related to the criminal proceedings from being free from threats, intimidation, harassment, and harm," the First Department of the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division wrote in its order Tuesday.
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Presiding Judge Juan Merchan imposed the gag order on Trump before his criminal trial in New York began, ordering the presumptive Republican presidential nominee not to make or direct others to make public statements about witnesses, counsel in the case or about court staff, the DA staff or family members of staff.
Merchan later ruled, amid the trial, that Trump violated the order on 10 occasions, resulting in a combined $10,000 fine. The violations stemmed from messages posted by Trump on Truth Social and the campaign's website.
Trump's legal team now has the opportunity to appeal the gag order to the New York Court of Appeals.
"The gag order imposed by conflicted Judge Juan Merchan in the lawless Manhattan DA case is unconstitutional and un-American. The threat to throw the 45th President of the United States and the leading candidate in the 2024 presidential election in jail for exercising his First Amendment rights is a Third World authoritarian tactic typical of Crooked Joe Biden and his comrades," Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital earlier Tuesday.
Tuesday also saw a strong showing of Trump allies joining the former president in court, including former 2024 presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy and Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, Florida Rep. Cory Mills, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
The Trump allies also held a press conference Tuesday, where they railed against the trial as a "sham."
"This is a sham. This is not the United States of America. This is some third-rate banana republic," Ramaswamy said.
"There's nothing that has been wrong here. Nothing that has been done poorly by President Trump," Donalds said during added. "The only thing that's being done wrong is by this judge. His daughter is making money, raising money for Democrats, and all of the fundraising emails, and all the fundraising things are about this trial that his daughter is using. He won't recuse himself. This is a travesty of justice. This is a misuse of the justice system."
Trump's legal team had previously demanded Merchan recuse himself from the case, citing his daughter's work as a Democrat consultant.
The trial will resume Thursday at 9:30 a.m. and will wrap up slightly early at 4 p.m. due to a juror's previous commitment. Cohen is expected to return to the stand to continue cross-examination.
The prosecution team revealed Tuesday that Cohen is their last witness.