Donald Trump arrived at a New York courthouse for the start of his hush money trial Monday, making him the first-ever former president to face a criminal trial in the U.S.
He marked the occasion by taking to his Truth Social platform minutes after his arrival and reminding his followers that he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this year.
The trial comes after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg accused Trump of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in an attempt to keep her quiet about a sexual encounter between the two before the 2016 election.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to the 34 charges in the case.
In a post to Truth Social, made as news reports swirled about his arrival at the courthouse, Trump shared images from news stories that broke on Jan. 30 this year, pointing out that a Republican congresswoman had put forward his name to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Also read: 'He did say one thing that is accurate': CNN host undercuts Trump courthouse rant
New York Rep. Claudia Tenney said that Trump was "instrumental" in brokering the Abraham Accords, which were signed September 2020 between Israel and Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates and sought to normalize relations between the countries. In the following months, Morocco and Sudan signed a similar treaty.
"For decades, bureaucrats, foreign policy 'professionals', and international organizations insisted that additional Middle East peace agreements were impossible without a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. President Trump proved that to be false," Tenney told Fox News at the time.
"The valiant efforts by President Trump in creating the Abraham Accords were unprecedented and continue to go unrecognized by the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, underscoring the need for his nomination today," Tenney added.
