Trump calls judge "a bad person" after E. Jean Carroll trial delay request gets denied
Palm Beach, Florida - Over the weekend, Donald Trump shared an angry rant on social media aimed at the judge overseeing his upcoming defamation trial with writer E. Jean Carroll.
On Saturday, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to criticize judge Lewis Kaplan for turning down his request for a one-week delay in the trial so that he could attend the funeral of his late mother-in-law Amalija Knavs.
"Crazed, Trump hating Judge, Lewis Kaplan, who presided over the Election Interference Witch Hunt,... was asked if he could delay this Rigged Political Scam for one day so that I could attend the FUNERAL OF MY BELOVED MOTHER-IN-LAW WITH MY WIFE, THE FORMER (AND NEXT!) FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES – AND HE SAID NO," Trump exclaimed.
"He is a bad person and an even worse Judge," he added.
Kaplan issued the ruling on Friday, adding that "Mr. Trump is free to attend the trial, the funeral, or all or parts of both, as he wishes."
Trump and his attorneys have made a habit of requesting delays in the many legal cases he currently faces as he runs for re-election. They recently asked the judge overseeing his fraud trial for a delay so he could attend the funeral, which was also rejected.
The former president went on in his post to claim that Kaplan "purposely" set the trial date "in the middle of" primaries taking place in New Hampshire, and accused him of suffering from "TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME!"
"Can anyone imagine a husband not going to his wife's mother's funeral over a MADE UP STORY?" Trump lamented.
Was Donald Trump lying about attending his mother-in-law's funeral?
In their request for the delay, Trump and his legal team noted specifically that he would be too busy to attend the trial on Wednesday and Thursday because he would be traveling to Florida, but they failed to mention another engagement he has planned.
Attorneys for E. Jean Carroll, who is suing Trump for a second time for defamation, sent a letter to Judge Kaplan on Saturday, pointing out that "a campaign event featuring Mr. Trump has been scheduled" on January 17 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
With his mother-in-law's funeral scheduled for January 18, and since he is not required to attend the trial, it could be possible for Trump to attend both. He appears to still be attending the rally, as the event, which promises that he will "deliver remarks," is still active on his website.
The defamation trial is scheduled to begin in New York City this Tuesday, January 16.
Cover photo: Nicholas Kamm / AFP