Former US President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event on April 02, 2024 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
Donald Trump said Saturday that he would welcome the prospect of going to prison for violating a gag order in his upcoming hush money trial in New York.
“I would gladly become a modern-day Nelson Mandela – that would be a great honor for me,” the former president wrote in a lengthy post to Truth Social attacking New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, who is presiding over Trump’s case.
This was not the first time that Trump likened himself to a martyr as he faces a wave of criminal charges.
The presumptive Republican nominee compared himself to Mandela, the former South African president who spent 27 years in prison for his anti-apartheid activism, in October against various lawsuits he had filed.
Last week, Trump took to Truth Social to share a message that likened his legal troubles to the persecution of Jesus Christ.
Saturday's tirade occurred just over a week before the trial was scheduled to begin on April 15.
On that day, jury selection will begin in the state criminal trial of the former president on 34 counts of forging business documents, for allegedly concealing a payment to porn star Stormy Daniels weeks before the 2016 presidential election.
Trump accused Merchan of exposure because of his daughter's role in a progressive consulting firm that worked for Democrats.
Trump's social media rant on Saturday was the latest of many comments he has made about the judge's daughter since Merchan imposed an initial gag order at the end of March.
The order prohibits Trump from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and lawyers in the case. He was also prohibited from speaking publicly about court employees, employees of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and their family members. This first publication order came in response to Trump's repeated calls for the judge to step down.
A day after the first gag order was imposed on March 26, Trump went after Merchan's daughter on social media.
Shortly after, Merchan granted prosecutors a request to expand the scope of the order to prevent direct attacks on members of Merchan's family and the family of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Under the expanded system, Trump can still criticize Merchan and Bragg individually. But he is not allowed to openly target their families.
Playing with the fire of gag orders has become routine for Trump.
In October, Judge Arthur Engoron threatened Trump with prison for violating a similar order in a civil case, ultimately sentencing him to a $10,000 fine.
President Joe Biden's re-election campaign exploited Mandela's comments on Saturday.
“Imagine being so selfish that you compare yourself to Jesus Christ and Nelson Mandela, all in the space of a little over a week: That's Donald Trump for you,” Biden campaign spokeswoman Jasmine Harris said on Saturday.
