Trump Treated Like Other Criminal Defendants, But Allies Are Mad Over 'Double Standard of Justice'

Former President Donald Trump and his supporters threw a fit as his trial over the Stormy Daniels hush money payment began. They claimed that the former president was being victimized by being subjected to the same standards as every other regular criminal trial defendant before him. The accusations of wrongful treatment against Trump grew stronger after Judge Merchan, overseeing the case, asked Trump to be present every day of the criminal trial, which is a standard proceeding, as per HuffPost. “If you disrupt the proceedings in any way, the law permits the court to exclude you from the court, commit you to jail, and continue the trial in your absence,” the judge said, denying Trump permission to be absent on the day of his son Barron Trump's graduation.

Trump and his associates expressed quick disapproval of Merchan's choice, undermining the legitimacy of the case and its participants, according to CNN. Governor of North Dakota, Doug Burgum, described the case as 'a sham trial' headed by a district attorney who was 'politically motivated' and asserted, “If this was brought against anybody other than President Trump, this would have been a misdemeanor.”

In a post on X, House Republican conference chair Rep. Elise Stefanik referred to the presiding judge, Juan Merchan, as 'corrupt' and described the case as a 'show trial,' alleging meddling in the 2024 elections. Echoing sentiments similar to those of other Trump supporters, “The double standard of justice is clear,” she posted. 

Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio also commented on the Manhattan district attorney, saying, “What Alvin Bragg is doing to President Trump is a disgrace to the rule of law and the opposite of Justice. It’s also election interference.” Vivek Ramaswamy posted a roughly three-minute direct-to-camera video on X, claiming that Bragg's case represents 'a bastardization of our legal system' and lamenting the former president’s treatment. “You have Alvin Bragg, a Manhattan DA who was elected on the promise of going after Donald Trump. For what crime, we have no idea, just the idea that they had to go after Donald Trump,” Ramaswamy said. 

Reports suggest this is part of a bigger plot by Trump's team, which is presently sending talking points to supporters on how to portray his hush-money trial in New York using one-liners that characterize the trial as a 'bogus case,' 'weak case,' and 'not a hush-money case,' The Daily Beast reported.

While Trump is prohibited from speaking about possible witnesses or other parties connected to the case by a gag order, his allies and surrogates are not, and a lot of them want to steadfastly defend him during the trial. The document circulated by Trump's team refers to the trial as 'Biden's trial' instead. “The Biden Trial is a show trial in the truest sense of the term,” the document reads.