'That's not it': Maggie Haberman shreds Trump's excuse for absent hush money protesters

Former President Donald Trump's most recent excuse about why hell has yet to break loose outside his criminal hush money trial was shredded Monday night by the New York Times reporter covering the case.

New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman spoke with Anderson Cooper on CNN Monday night about the small number of of MAGA supporters who are holding court outside the Manhattan courtroom where Trump stands accused of falsifying business records to cover up hush money paid to a porn star.

"He has been hoping for something of a circus around his trial, but the reality is that only two to three dozen supporters over the last week have shown up," said Haberman, who has been covering the trial in person. "He looked very unhappy."

Cooper noted Trump has not been accompanied by family or friends, and must rely on the sole support of his legal team as District Attorney Alvin Bragg's prosecution forges forward.

"It has been striking that there's no family because I know that there was some discussion at some point in those couple of weeks about who would be with him in court," Haberman said. "He is by himself.

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Haberman argued Trump wants a circus outside the court house to make up for the lack of familial support inside the courtroom.

"When he feels boosted — it's by his supporters," she explained.

The scant numbers of supporters stands in stark contrast to the actions taking place at Columbia University where students have created a tent encampment and faced arrests over their pro-Palestine protests.

Their protests caught the eye of Trump, who connected the uptown events to the security outside his downtown Manhattan courthouse.

"The area surrounding the Courthouse, in Downtown Manhattan, is closed up like a drum, with New York City’s Finest (Police) all over the place," Trump posted on TruthSocial. "Why not send some to Columbia to protect Jewish Students, and others...Republicans want the right to protest in front of the Courthouse, like everyone else!"

Haberman swiftly shut down Trump's suggestion that enhanced security linked to the Ivy League was to blame for the meager turnout outside his trial.

"Trump started trying to suggest on Truth Social that that's why the number has been so small, is that they're all being blocked" Haberman said. "But that's not it, it's that people are not showing up."

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