Trump will be restricted to campaigning three days a week as his legal problems swamp him
At a time when the 2024 presidential campaign is just kicking into gear, former President Donald Trump's ability to hit the road is facing a major roadblock as his Manhattan hush money trial begins in less than two weeks and is expected to suck up all his time for at least the next two months.
According to a report from the Daily Beast's Jake Lahut and Jose Pagliery, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan has set a "punishing" schedule for the trial that will look at the former president paying off adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.
While President Joe Biden will be free to travel around the country and meet with donors, starting March 25 Trump will be required to sit in the courtroom "from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday for weeks," leaving him only Wednesdays and weekends to hold rallies and meet with donors for much-needed cash.
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Noting the trial is expected to stretch out to mid-May, the report states, "The trial schedule will be an unprecedented constraint on a leading presidential campaign," adding that his ability to fundraise will face an uphill battle.
"Some of these trips, according to the senior adviser and other Trumpworld sources familiar with the early planning, will involve fundraisers separate from the traditional MAGA rally—a notable strategic shift. Trump’s rallies in the early primary states almost always had a V.I.P. area where big donors could schmooze with campaign staff and Trump himself. And Trump has also reportedly been hesitant to travel for the sole purpose of fundraisers, according to Puck," the Beast report states. "But instead of donors coming to Trump, it’ll increasingly be the opposite as Trump tries to lure donor dollars."
According to one former Trump White House official, the Republican Party has only itself to blame for selecting a candidate weighed down with too many outside problems.
“Republicans were warned, but they decided they’d rather go with the guy with [88] pending felony charges who will be campaigning between court dates,” explained former Trump communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin before adding, "They could have had a candidate like Nikki Haley who would have spent the next eight months crisscrossing the country making the case to voters and boosting other Republicans. If Republicans lose the House and the Senate—which skews in their favor—they’ll have themselves and Trump to thank.”
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