Former Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Weissmann often shares his legal analysis on MSNBC regarding the Donald Trump criminal trial in Manhattan where the former President faces 34 felony counts for allegedly falsifying business documents to cover up payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 presidential election.
On Wednesday, when the jury was released to begin deliberation, Weissmann spoke about Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the trial. He said: “I have, like, a man crush on him. He is such a great judge that it’s hard to see that the jurors wouldn’t have the same impression.” Weissmann added: “If you looked in a dictionary for judicial temperament, that’s what you’d get.”
Lara Trump, co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and daughter-in-law of presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, responded to Weissmann’s “man crash” comment on Fox & Friends and said: “This is not a surprise at all. This guy is a hero to the left because you have to take a look at all the ways he has ruled against Donald Trump and his defense.”
Fox & Friends Hosts, Lara Trump Light Up MSNBC Legal Analyst ‘Fawning’ Over Trump Judge After He Admits to ‘Man Crush’ https://t.co/pXfPkm1B5v
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) May 30, 2024
Lara Trump offered no evidence for her assertion that Merchan had ruled against the defendant, though Merchan did hold Trump in contempt for violating a gag order at least 10 times.
Yet even enforcing the gag order and asking Trump to curtail threatening comments he made online that violated the order, Merchan did not resort to jailing the defendant, recognizing Trump’s unique position and saying: “Mr. Trump, it’s important to understand that the last thing I want to do is to put you in jail. You are the former president of the United States and possibly the next president, as well.”
Lara Trump added that if the former president is convicted, the campaign will turn “lemons into lemonade,” and noted that her father-in-law might need to do more virtual campaigning if he ends up confined to his home for a sentence.