Conservatives got into a tizzy on Monday after Donald Trump raged that it “looks like” Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the former president’s criminal hush money trial, will “not let me go” to the high school graduation ceremony of son Barron Trump.
But that’s not what Merchan said.
Merchan actually said it may be possible for Trump to attend the May 17 celebration, but he’d have to see how the trial develops.
Trump nevertheless spun it into an attack on what he called the “scam” proceedings against him as he first fumed outside the courthouse:
And then in a post on his Truth Social platform:
“Pure evil,” Trump’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr. wrote on X (formerly Twitter) in response to right-wing outrage:
Trump’s other son Eric Trump, meanwhile, slammed Merchan as “truly heartless in not letting a father attend his son’s graduation”.
To clarify, Merchan did not rule on Trump’s request to postpone the trial so that he could mark his son’s educational milestone.
“It really depends on how we’re doing on time and where we are in the trial,” Merchan told the court, reported The Associated Press, which also reported the judge as saying that “if the trial proceeds as planned he’s willing to adjourn” for the day.
Merchan did warn, however, that Trump could face arrest if he misses court or disrupts proceedings in the trial centered on allegations that before the 2016 election he paid porn actor Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about their alleged affair, which Daniels says took place when his wife, Melania Trump, was caring for their then-infant son Barron.
The latest disingenuous spin of Trump, his family and allies was pointed out by critics, who also noted that defendants shouldn’t receive special privileges: