The scandal-plagued and multi-indicted former President Donald Trump made headlines for days on end over the absolute temper tantrums he was pitching in and out of the courtroom over the possibility that he may miss his youngest son’s impending high school graduation due to the requirement that he be physically present inside the courtroom throughout his notorious Manhattan Hush Money trial.
Late last month, Judge Juan Merchan ultimately granted Donald’s request and announced that the court would not sit on May 17th, to allow the former president to attend his son Barron’s high school graduation ceremony.
Now, lo and behind, the disgraced former president is slated to deliver the keynote address at the Minnesota Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Reagan Dinner — on May 17th; the very same day that his son graduates, according to the KFGO radio station.
Trump is currently neck deep in the infamous Manhattan Stormy Daniels Hush Money trial, which sees the former president charged with a staggering 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection to hush money payments that were made to his alleged former affair partner during the 2016 presidential election cycle.
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Donald has not only pleaded not guilty to all charges but also vehemently denies Daniels’ claims that they had an affair at all.
Throughout this ongoing trial, Trump has repeatedly aired his grievances about possibly being forced to miss his “wonderful” youngest son’s Florida private high school graduation due to the Hush Money trial. On April 30th, Judge Merchan told the court, “I don’t think May 17 is a problem,” and effectively gave Donald the day off to attend Barron’s graduation ceremony.
However, funnily enough, the Republican Party of Minnesota’s Lincoln Reagan Dinner is taking place at St. Paul’s RiverCentre on the very same day — an event that Donald Trump is hosting alongside GOP House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer.
Minnesota GOP chair David Hann confirmed Donald’s impending attendance in a statement reading, “We are thrilled to welcome President Trump back to Minnesota to headline our Lincoln Reagan dinner, an annual tradition that reminds us of the roots of our Party and the leaders who have been most impactful in promoting our American values.”
Fact-checking websites have looked into the overall situation and noted that Barron’s ceremony is slated to begin mid-morning on May 17th, while the Republican Party fundraising dinner in St. Paul is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Given the timing of the two events and Trump’s possession of a private jet, it is entirely possible that he could pull off attending both the graduation ceremony and the fundraising dinner.
However, as noted by Tray Gober, a trial attorney and managing partner of Lee, Gober & Reyna, the former president’s decision to speak at the fundraising event after raising holy Hell about his son’s graduation goes to show that Donald is clearly trying to “see how much he can get away with.”
Gober explains:
Trump made a big deal about the prospect of missing his son’s graduation, and only now is the public learning that he plans to double-book and be the headline speaker at the Republican Party of Minnesota’s Lincoln Reagan Dinner on the same day. However, Judge Merchan will likely not say much about the dinner since Trump has the right to campaign for president.
Barron’s graduation ceremony is taking place in the morning while the dinner does not begin until late afternoon, so Trump is surely planning on attending both events. It would not be practical for Judge Merchan to try squeezing in a partial court date after Barron’s graduation, so it’s inconsequential to the court if Trump attends this dinner.
However, this is something that Judge Merchan will definitely make a mental note about, even if he doesn’t ever make any public statements about it. It just is another example of Trump trying to push the envelope and see how much he can get away with.”
There’s certainly no doubt in anyone’s mind at this point that this convenient double-booking for the day was premeditated in every sense of the word. We can only hope that Judge Merchan sees that too.
Featured image via Political Tribune Gallery
