Eric Trump bemoaned the “smelly” courtroom where his dad, the former president, is facing a civil trial for fraud that also implicates Eric and his brother Donald Trump Jr.
The younger Trump appeared on the far-right network Newsmax on Wednesday, arguing that it’s a “disgrace” that the trial is taking place in such a disgusting courtroom.
Mr Trump had spent the day at the New York State Supreme Court in lower Manhattan following the start of the $250m trial brought by New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
The lawsuit alleging fraud is against Mr Trump, the Trump Organization, and his two eldest sons. Eric Trump is the executive vice president of the Trump Organization.
While the former president has mostly been declining to appear in courtrooms during his earlier legal battles, he chose to attend the fraud trial. He and his family enterprise stand accused of overstating the value of their properties to fraudulently acquire better loans and insurance agreements. The ex-president has strenuously denied the allegations.
“The courthouse I was in today, it’s disgusting. It smells. You had cables running across all the walls. It’s a disgrace and the fact that that’s a representation of our legal system...” Eric Trump said on Wednesday. “You see the same thing at airports. I mean how many times do you fly through an airport and you see acoustical airport tiles that are falling down, right?”
Mr Trump also bashed congressional Republicans for not shutting down the government.
Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) agreed to a 45-day funding resolution in a deal with Democrats to avert a shutdown, which prompted Rep Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to push for a motion to vacate the speakership, which led to the ouster of Mr McCarthy on Tuesday after eight Republicans voted with all the Democrats present to remove the speaker.
“Do I think it was a mistake not shutting down the government? 100 per cent. They should’ve,” Mr Trump told Newsmax. “We are running a $2 trillion deficit and our bridges are falling down and our roads suck and our trains are antiquated, they are from the 1950s. You look at China where they are building these bullet trains that go 300 miles per hour, we are falling behind the rest of the world.”
A document by Chief Clerk John Werner celebrating the 80th anniversary of the building outlines the design and architectural history of the New York County Courthouse.
It states that “The first floor entrance to the Courthouse is graced by a dramatic vestibule leading to a majestic colonnade, which leads to the great Rotunda”.
“The second floor balcony opens on to the Rotunda. Throughout this now landmarked space, walls, floors and columns are of Italian and American marbles,” it adds.
“This remarkable Courthouse is owned and maintained by the City of New York and has been occupied by the Supreme Court, Civil Branch, New York County, the Appellate Term, First Department and the New York County Clerk’s Office since it opened in 1927,” the document states.
After the Trumps were found liable for fraud, the current trial will determine the size of the penalty they will face.
Eric Trump told Newsmax that his “father is a one-man wrecking ball that keeps the lunacy and the tyranny from hitting ... and it’s why he’s beloved by people in this country”.
