Social media users chastised former President Donald Trump for implying he would be prepared to serve time in prison for repeatedly violating a gag order issued by a judge in New York. “This judge has given me a gag order and said you’ll go to jail if you violate it,” Trump was heard saying to reporters on May 6 after the court adjourned for the day in his salacious hush money trial. “And frankly, you know what, our Constitution is much more important than jail. It’s not even close. I’ll do that sacrifice any day.” According to The Hill , Trump added, “…what’s happening here is a disgrace, and the appellate courts ought to get involved.”
SATAN America is so sick of you Were comin to put you in PRISON https://t.co/Pzw6lV5kdD
— Hypriestess (@HypriestessMs) May 7, 2024
Users on social media slammed the former president for his remarks. “Trump says he’s ready to go to jail. Does he realize they’ll take his hair products and makeup away?” a user quipped . “The judge should make him pick up garbage on the side of the road for a week!!!” another user suggested . “Let him keep his hair products and makeup! Take away the free press he gets every day! His phone, and only visited by his Lawyers! Even his SS should be out of sight! Jailed like a private Citizen would be,” another user slammed .
Says the man who already knows he’s guilty and going to jail. Another scam for his poor base. https://t.co/auoOZNe5P8
— Mad Mo (@lmadmo4_linda) May 7, 2024
“Can we please just pull off the bandaid and lock him up like any other defendant who defies a gag order targeting the jury,” a user tweeted . “I think Donald, like a typical bully, is a coward. He’s going to find jail…and then prison…a true education. He’ll cower in the corner before the first night is over,” a user predicted , hoping for a jail scenario.
“Trump is bluffing. He doesn’t want to go to jail. He would find that very hard. And it would hurt his public image. He’s like all bullies. He talks a big game but is a coward. If he wants to go to jail he knows what to do,” a user criticized . Last week, Trump’s lawyer argued that he wasn’t being allowed to talk, violating his constitutional rights. Pointing out another lie, a user shared , “He is allowed to talk. Just like every other defendant. He just can’t talk about jurors and witnesses. But he can talk about the government and other people all he wants.”
On May 8, Judge Juan Merchan declared that Trump had broken a gag order ten times and imposed a second punishment. Only days after the judge decided on an earlier set of gag order violations that resulted in Trump paying a $9,000 fine, Trump was forced to pay an extra $1,000 for disparaging jurors. Merchan forewarned Trump that further infractions may result in jail time, as per The New York Times . The “last thing I want to do is put you in jail,” but “at the end of the day, I have a job to do.” “Your continued violations constitute a direct attack on the rule of law,” he added.