Trump was given the day off trial for Barron’s graduation. Now he’s headlining a Republican fundraiser
Defendant’s busy schedule on Friday comes after the judge in his hush money case cleared the decks to allow him to attend son’s high school leavers’ ceremony in Florida
Donald Trump is planning to headline a political fundraiser on the day he demanded a break in his hush money trial so that he could attend his youngest son Barron’s high school graduation.
The Minnesota Republican Party has announced that the former president will headline its annual Lincoln Reagan Dinner event on Friday 17 May, the same day that Barron Trump graduates from Oxbridge Academy in the Sunshine State.
“We are thrilled to welcome President Trump back to Minnesota,” state GOP chairman David Hann said in a statement. “I can think of no one more fitting to join us this year than President Trump.”
The fundraiser will be held in St Paul, Minnesota, a roughly three hour and 45 minute flight from West Palm Beach, where Barron’s graduation ceremony will take place.
The high school event starts from 10am ET. It is not clear what time the Republican fundraiser gets under way.
However, Mr Trump’s busy schedule that day comes after he falsely claimed the judge in his hush money trial wouldn’t give him a day off to attend his son’s graduation from Oxbridge.
At the start of the trial in April, Mr Trump’s legal team asked the judge to allow the criminal defendant the day off.
Judge Juan Merchan told the former president he was not going to make a decision until the trial was underway, saying that he would not be able to grant the request if the trial was running behind schedule.
Mr Trump hit out at the judge saying that he was blocking him from attending the special moment.
“Who will explain for me, to my wonderful son, Barron, who is a GREAT Student at a fantastic School, that his Dad will likely not be allowed to attend his Graduation Ceremony, something that we have been talking about for years, because a seriously Conflicted and Corrupt New York State Judge wants me in Criminal Court on a bogus 'Biden Case' which, according to virtually all Legal Scholars and Pundits, has no merit, and should NEVER have been brought,” he wrote on Truth Social on 15 April.
Mr Trump's other sons and allies got in on the outrage as well.
Donald Trump Jr reposted a video compilation made by right-wing online personality Jack Posobiec calling Judge Merchan’s non-existent decision “pure evil”.
“Judge Merchan is truly heartless in not letting a father attend his son’s graduation,” Eric Trump also chimed in.
Senate candidate Kari Lake called the judge “corrupt”, “heartless” and “cruel”, while Utah senator Mike Lee wrote that it was “deliberately cruel”.
Despite all the complaining, Judge Merchan ultimately granted the request – saying on 30 April that it was not a problem for Mr Trump to take the day off for the ceremony because the trial is currently running to schedule.
His appearance in Minnesota on 17 May will also come after Mr Trump once vowed never to visit the state again if President Joe Biden won it in the 2020 election.
“What we've done for Minnesota, if I lose Minnesota, I'm never coming back,” he said during his 2020 presidential campaign. “I don't care. I'm never coming back!”
Apparently that promise didn't stick.
The Independent has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.
Unlike his siblings, Barron has largely been kept out of the spotlight.
After the end of Mr Trump's presidency, his youngest son left Washington and enrolled at the school from which he will now graduate near the family’s Mar-a-Lago home and is next expected to enrol in college.
A source close to the Trump family told People in March that if Barron goes away to college, there is a chance that his mother will follow him.
“Melania’s main job is taking care of Barron,” the source said.
“I think it’s possible that she will follow him wherever he goes to school.”
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