Donald Trump is no longer attending his hush money trial alone, now enjoying a growing crew of GOP hanger-ons who are helping him circumvent his gag order by acting as "surrogates" outside the courthouse. As Alternet notes, Trump's entourage may be pleasing to the former president, but it's now annoying Judge Juan Merchan.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins reported that Merchan was "visibly annoyed" by Trump's support group, which he appeared to view as disruptive to the proceedings. "This judge does not give away much," she told Wolf Blitzer. "He has a very even tone. He greets Donald Trump with a 'Good morning, Mr. Trump' every single day that he walks inside the courtroom… but there was this moment where it was five or six people from Trump's team, and they get into the second row of the entire courtroom to sit in the pews, to listen to what's happening. And the judge stared straight at them as they were walking in."
The group of elected politicians, aides, and party officials have greeted Trump each morning, sat behind him during the trial proceedings, and given press conferences in which they have condemned the whole affair as political persecution. They have also attacked witnesses, the judge and his family.
Many of the trial attendees, including Ohio senator J.D. Vance, former presidential candidate Vivek Ramswamy, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, are believed to be auditioning to be Trump's running mate. Others, like Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville and Florida Sen. Rick Scott seem content to demonstrate their fealty. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has relied on Trump's backing to remain in power, joined the group on Tuesday, calling the trial a "sham" and "disgrace."
So far, their presence has been useful to Trump. While the former president seethes under a gag order that blocks him from threatening jurors, witnesses, prosecutors, and court staff, his loyal retainers have expressed his thoughts for him. Tuberville made his intentions clear in an interview with Newsmax, a right-wing network. "Hopefully we'll have more and more senators and congressmen go up every day and represent him," Tuberville said. "And be able to go out and overcome this gag order. That's one of the reasons we went, to be able to speak our piece for President Trump."
