Op-ed by Summer Lane | Photo: Alamy
President Donald Trump is facing so many legal battles in so many different venues amid the 2024 election season that it seems incredible that he is able to campaign as much as he does.
The president’s intense schedule is a testament to how hard he’s fighting on the 2024 campaign trail.
Take, for example, the schedule that he has kept in the last week. The president flew into Iowa over the weekend ahead of the Monday caucuses amidst nasty, frigid weather. He campaigned on Saturday and Sunday, won the caucuses on Monday night, and then immediately flew to New York City, arriving at 3:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday morning.
He was up bright and early that same morning for the first day in another trial brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, whom the president also faced down in court in 2023. This time around, the trial is being fought over Carroll’s claim of alleged defamation and damages, with Carroll arguing that the president’s comments have “shattered her reputation.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Carroll admitted to Trump attorney Alina Habba during cross-examination this week that she’s making more than $100,000 just on her substack blog, via NBC News.
It would appear that constantly attacking Donald Trump has turned into a lucrative enterprise for Carroll, who further refused to tell Habba on Wednesday if she would have “become as famous” without Donald Trump.
It’s also important to note that in last year’s case with Carroll and Trump, the court did not find him liable for rape, and yet somehow, he was liable for alleged sexual abuse and defamation. These seemingly contradictory findings caused many Americans to scratch their heads, and Trump filed an appeal following the ruling.
From New York to New Hampshire
Incredibly, after a long day in court, Trump turned around and flew out of New York City and back to New Hampshire, where he delivered a campaign speech in Atkinson, kicking off the first of a multi-day push toward the state’s Jan. 23 primary election.
Following his speech, the president then returned to New York City, where he appeared on Wednesday morning for the second day in the E. Jean Carroll case.
Trump was reportedly a little feisty in court, sparring briefly with presiding Judge Lewis Kaplan, who threatened to have the president removed from the trial.
“I would love it,” Trump simply replied, via NBC.
Trump then made his way to 40 Wall Street, where he gave remarks to the press in The Trump Building, recapping the events of the trial day in court. He expressed his criticism of Judge Kaplan’s move to deny the president’s request that he be allowed to attend the funeral of his late mother-in-law, Amalija Knavs.
“That’s a nasty man, he’s a nasty judge…it’s obvious to everybody in the court,” Trump remarked.
After giving his remarks to the press, President Trump then headed back to the airport and flew to New Hampshire again to give remarks in Portsmouth for yet another campaign event.
He joked that it wasn’t easy to get to New Hampshire, but as always, Trump brushed off the logistical hardships of crisscrossing the nation between legal trials and campaign events, diving into his remarks with both energy and humor.
A system of ‘Broken Justice’
Late Wednesday night, Trump described the ongoing trial in NYC as “a MADE UP & DISGUSTING HOAX” and lamented the state of legal affairs in the country as “BROKEN JUSTICE!”
He also derided “Democrat Political Operatives” involved in the E. Jean Carroll case, singling out players like Reid Hoffman, who assisted Carroll in funding her lawsuit against Trump, as reported by The New York Times. Hoffman is a millionaire Democrat donor who co-founded LinkedIn.
The president returned to Palm Beach, Florida, after his Portsmouth speech, choosing to skip out on one day of the Carroll trial to attend the funeral of his mother-in-law. He said that he would be back in New Hampshire for events and rallies up until Election Night.
He wrote on Truth Social, “Staying through Election Night, but today will be devoted to the funeral (Celebration!!!) of a GREAT WOMAN, ‘Babi,’ the Beloved Mother of Melania and Grandmother of Barron — And what a Woman she was!!!”
It’s hard to believe that Trump’s legal battle with E. Jean Carroll is just one of several different court fronts that he is dealing with in 2024.
He is also contending with a New York civil fraud suit, an election-based case in Washington, D.C., an election-related case in Fulton County, Georgia, a so-called “classified documents” case in Florida, and the supposed Manhattan-based “hush money” case spearheaded by District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Amid these legal cases, multiple entities across the nation have also been attempting to strip the president’s name off the 2024 ballot, utilizing a tepid Fourteenth Amendment argument to do so. Notably, none of the cases have ultimately been successful so far.
In fact, both Fourteenth Amendment cases in Colorado and in Maine are expected to go to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the issue will likely be settled in Trump’s favor. Trump even enjoyed the dismissal of two more of those cases in Oregon and New Mexico last week.
The hurricane of legal fights aimed at Trump would certainly appear insurmountable to any other candidate – but Trump is not just any candidate. He’s built differently. He’s an unstoppable force, and he is mission-focused on reclaiming the White House in 2024. It is this resolve, coupled with broad support from Americans, that seems to fuel his day-to-day fight through such a harrowing campaign season.