Trump said on Saturday that he was looking forward to the chance of going to jail for breaking a gag order in his upcoming hush money trial in New York.
"I will gladly become a Modern Day Nelson Mandela—It will be my GREAT HONOR," the former president said in a long Truth Social post criticizing Judge Juan Merchan of the New York State Supreme Court, who is in charge of Trump's case.
It was not the first time Trump has said something like this about himself. He is facing a lot of criminal charges.
He also compared himself to Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa who spent 27 years in jail for fighting racism, in an October rant against his many cases.
Recently, Trump posted on Truth Social a message comparing his legal problems to Jesus Christ's suffering.
The rant on Saturday happened a little more than a week before the trial starts on April 15.
On that day, the state will begin choosing a jury for the criminal case against the former president on 34 counts of forging business papers, reportedly to hide a hush money payment he made to porn star Stormy Daniels just weeks before the 2016 election.
Because his daughter works for a radical planning company that has done work for Democrats, Trump says Merchan is dishonest.
Since Merchan put in place the first gag order at the end of March, Trump has made several rants on social media about the judge's daughter. The most recent one was on Saturday.
That order said Trump could not say anything in public about the witnesses, jurors, lawyers, or other people involved in the case. He also could not talk about court staff, Manhattan District Attorney's office staff, or their families in public. Trump had asked the judge many times to step down, which led to the first gag order.
One day after the first gag order was put in place on March 26, Trump used social media to attack Merchan's daughter.
Soon after, Merchan agreed to the prosecutors' request to make the order cover more areas. This time, it would not allow direct strikes on Merchan's family members or the family of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Trump can still attack Merchan and Bragg on their own under the broader order. He can not go after their families in public, though.
It is becoming normal for Trump to play with the fire of his gag orders. In October, Judge Arthur Engoron told Trump he could go to jail for breaking a similar order in a civil case. Instead, he fined him $10,000.
The reelection campaign of President Joe Biden used Mandela's words on Saturday. "Imagine being so self-centered that you compare yourself to both Jesus Christ and Nelson Mandela in just over a week. That is Donald Trump for you," Jasmine Harris, a spokesman for the Biden team, said on Saturday.
"I will gladly become a Modern Day Nelson Mandela—It will be my GREAT HONOR," the former president said in a long Truth Social post criticizing Judge Juan Merchan of the New York State Supreme Court, who is in charge of Trump's case.
It was not the first time Trump has said something like this about himself. He is facing a lot of criminal charges.
He also compared himself to Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa who spent 27 years in jail for fighting racism, in an October rant against his many cases.
Recently, Trump posted on Truth Social a message comparing his legal problems to Jesus Christ's suffering.
The rant on Saturday happened a little more than a week before the trial starts on April 15.
On that day, the state will begin choosing a jury for the criminal case against the former president on 34 counts of forging business papers, reportedly to hide a hush money payment he made to porn star Stormy Daniels just weeks before the 2016 election.
Because his daughter works for a radical planning company that has done work for Democrats, Trump says Merchan is dishonest.
Since Merchan put in place the first gag order at the end of March, Trump has made several rants on social media about the judge's daughter. The most recent one was on Saturday.
That order said Trump could not say anything in public about the witnesses, jurors, lawyers, or other people involved in the case. He also could not talk about court staff, Manhattan District Attorney's office staff, or their families in public. Trump had asked the judge many times to step down, which led to the first gag order.
One day after the first gag order was put in place on March 26, Trump used social media to attack Merchan's daughter.
Soon after, Merchan agreed to the prosecutors' request to make the order cover more areas. This time, it would not allow direct strikes on Merchan's family members or the family of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Trump can still attack Merchan and Bragg on their own under the broader order. He can not go after their families in public, though.
It is becoming normal for Trump to play with the fire of his gag orders. In October, Judge Arthur Engoron told Trump he could go to jail for breaking a similar order in a civil case. Instead, he fined him $10,000.
The reelection campaign of President Joe Biden used Mandela's words on Saturday. "Imagine being so self-centered that you compare yourself to both Jesus Christ and Nelson Mandela in just over a week. That is Donald Trump for you," Jasmine Harris, a spokesman for the Biden team, said on Saturday.
