Internet Slams Trump's Hush Money Trial Judge Merchan's Donation to Joe Biden's Campaign

The internet is buzzing over revelations that Judge Juan Merchan who is overseeing Donald Trump's historic hush money trial, once donated to Joe Biden's presidential campaign and a group called the 'Progressive Turnout Project'.

As per NBC News, many question Merchan's impartiality and call for his recusal from the high-profile case. A video captioned, "WTF!! So, Judge Merchan donated to the 'Progressive Turnout Project' and its subsidiary the 'STOP TRUMP' organization??!!" sparked outrage, confusion, and heated debate across social media. Trump himself has been extremely vocal and critical of Merchan throughout the proceedings.

In April 2022, the former president accused the judge of having 'a Trump-hating family' with ties to Vice President, Kamala Harris, as per Telegraph UK. Trump claimed Merchan's daughter, Loren Merchan, worked for the Biden-Harris campaign. He also blasted the judge's $15 donation to Biden's campaign in 2020 as clear evidence of bias against him.

On Twitter, reactions ranged from outrage to dismissiveness. User @RobertBradleyJ2 opined, "This should end immediately and lawsuits should be filed!" while another user @TonyMontana5309, went so far as to compare the situation to that of Nazi Germany. "The Democratic Party and the White House are following the 1933-1945 NSDAP playbook to the letter. Part of this was installing Juan Merchan."

User @MichelleRM68 argued, "You'd be shocked what's allowed to go on here, especially when it comes to Trump, there are no rules." @ruliesCaamal16 asked in disbelief, "Why is this not grounds for dismissal? He donated to a leftist campaign that was made to stop Trump!!"

However, others felt that Merchan's scanty political donations were overblown. Apart from the $15 Biden donation, Judge Merchan also gave $20 total to anti-Trump groups 'Progressive Turnout Project' and 'Stop Republicans'. 

Merchan is no stranger to legal clashes involving the Trump family. In 2022, he presided over the tax fraud trial that led to the conviction of the Trump Organization's former CFO, Allen Weisselberg. Merchan is also overseeing the fraud case against Trump ally, Steve Bannon. But the hush money trial is undoubtedly the biggest case in his 17-year tenure on the bench.

Despite repeated attempts by Trump's legal team to have Merchan recused from the case over alleged biases, the judge has remained in place. Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, even expanded Trump's gag order to cover attacks on Merchan's family after the ex-president's inflammatory social media posts about the judge's daughter.

The heated online debate reflects the trial's larger political divisiveness and the high stakes involved, as it marks the first criminal conviction of a former U.S. president. With Trump being found guilty on all 34 charges on Thursday, May 30, it raises the critical question of whether there was any truth behind his claims of bias.