Todd Heisler/Pool/Reuters
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump stands outside the courtroom after the day’s criminal trial proceedings at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse on May 10, 2024 in New York, New York.Todd Heisler/Pool, via Reuters
Washington
CNN
—
Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that the Manhattan criminal trial prevented him from campaigning in key battleground states.
“I would be campaigning right now in Pennsylvania, Florida, many other states, North Carolina, Georgia,” he told reporters outside the courtroom on the second day of his trial in April. . He later made similar comments in the courthouse hallway, saying he “should have been” in Ohio, New Hampshire and South Carolina had it not been for the case in which he baselessly criticized President Joe Biden.
Indeed, it is possible that Mr. Trump would have campaigned in all of these states without the trial. But a review of his activities during the first four weeks of his trial shows that he has done little campaign travel during court breaks and has held few public campaign events. Instead, he spent most of his 12 court-free days out of sight of voters at his properties in New York, New Jersey and Florida.
He did not use the 12 days without a trial to visit Pennsylvania, Georgia, South Carolina, Ohio or New Hampshire, arguing that the trial prevented him from doing so. (He is scheduled to visit Ohio for his fundraiser on May 15th.)
There are no public events on most free days
Trump’s trial will not be held on Wednesdays, Saturdays or Sundays, and the judges were scheduled to have one Monday off in late April. As of this Saturday, May 11th, of the 27 days starting with jury selection starting on April 15th, President Trump is free to appear in court for 12 days, compared to the 15 days he is required to appear in court. This means that you can do that.
President Trump held no public events on seven of the 12 days he was not in court. And apart from a one-minute appearance on camera ahead of a private meeting with the Polish president at Trump Tower in New York City, there were no public events for eight of those 12 days.
President Trump has made few visits to battleground states since the trial began.
Trump went on a campaign tour during the trial.
He held campaign rallies in battleground states Wisconsin and Michigan on court-free Wednesdays in May, and booked a rally in battleground North Carolina for a weekend in April, but canceled at the last minute due to bad weather. Became.
(He had attended a private fundraiser in the state earlier in the day.) He is scheduled to hold a rally Saturday afternoon in New Jersey, a Democratic stronghold in presidential elections for three decades. He attended the May meeting. F1 race in Miami.
Trump also made campaign-style court appearances in Democratic-majority New York City before and after his three court appearances. And he has turned the hallway outside his Manhattan courtroom into a de facto campaign site, regularly speaking to media cameras before and after taking his seat in the courtroom.
However, he spent most of his 12 days off without any public campaign activity.Instead, he has spent time Golf at the Bedminster Club in New Jerseyfor those who bought a large number of his “NFT” digital trading cards who attended a Republican National Committee fundraiser at his Mar-a-Lago club and residence in Florida. – Attended Largo dinner, made phone calls and held meetings.
His complete itinerary for his days off is unknown. Below is a list of what he is known to have spent between April 15th and May 11th, the start of his trial.
April 15th: Courtroom
April 16: Court (later appears at a winery in New York City)
April 17th: Day off the court.There were no public events, but he met with Polish President Andrzej Duda at Trump Tower and appeared on camera for less than a minute.
April 18: Courtroom
April 19: Courtroom
April 20th: Day off the court.He attended a North Carolina fundraiser and was scheduled to speak at a North Carolina rally that was canceled due to weather.
April 21st: Day off the court.There are no public events
April 22nd: Courtroom
April 23rd: Courtroom
April 24th: Day off the court. There are no public events.played golf at Bedminster
April 25: Court (pre-appearance at a construction site in New York City)
April 26: Courtroom
April 27: Day off the court.There are no public events
April 28th: Day off the court.There are no public events
April 29th: Day off the court.There are no public events
April 30th: Courtroom
May 1st: Day off the court.Speaking at election rallies in Wisconsin and Michigan
May 2nd: Court (later appeared at the New York City Fire Department)
May 3: Courtroom
May 4th: Day off the court. There are no public events.Attending Republican National Committee fundraising luncheon at Mar-a-Lago
May 5th: Off-court day.Appeared at the F1 race in Miami
May 6th: Courtroom
May 7th: Courtroom
May 8th: Day off the court. There are no public events. Attended dinner with NFT buyers at Mar-a-Lago
May 9th: Courtroom
May 10th: Courtroom
May 11: Day off the court.Election rally scheduled to be held in New Jersey
CNN’s Kate Sullivan contributed to this article.
