Jimmy Kimmel slammed Donald Trump on Tuesday for lying about “a crowd that wasn’t there” outside the Manhattan courthouse where his hush money trial is taking place.
Mr Trump, 77, is currently on trial in New York accused of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in an alleged bid to cover up hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
He allegedly paid Ms Daniels, 45, $130,000 in October 2016 in exchange for her silence over a 2006 affair the actor claimed they had.
Mr Trump has denied the affair and pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him, which he has claimed are politically motivated to stop him from winning the 2024 election.
Amid his campaign for the presidency, the former president has called on his supporters to rally outside the courthouse where the trial is taking place.
“GO OUT AND PEACEFULLY PROTEST. RALLY BEHIND MAGA. SAVE OUR COUNTRY,” he wrote on Truth Social on Monday.
But his pleas seem to have fallen on deaf ears, with the streets surrounding the courthouse mostly empty of Trump supporters on Monday morning, according to The New York Times.
Jimmy Kimmel was quick to pick up on the lack of visible support for the former president, who is also involved in three other criminal cases.
Donald Trump’s “popularity seems to be losing steam”, he said.
“He seems to be less popular each day and he cannot deal with it. Donald Trump may be full of gas, but his supporters seem to be running out,” the late-night host added, before cutting to a clip of the seemingly empty streets outside the courthouse.
“As you can see, no one showed up. I’m not sure if they’re saving their energy for one of his next criminal trials,” Mr Kimmel said of Mr Trump’s supporters.
The ABC host went on to slam Mr Trump for lying about the size of the crowds in a Truth Social post.
“And while you would think Donald Trump wouldn’t be able to lie about the size of a crowd that wasn’t there, think again,” he said, showing a post made by Mr Trump on his Truth Social platform where he claimed, “thousands of people were turned away from the Courthouse in Lower Manhattan by steel stanchions and police”.
“It is an armed camp to keep people away,” he added, before slamming a report by The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, which claimed he was “disappointed” with the crowds outside court on Monday.
“Maggot Hagerman of The Failing New York Times, falsely reported that I was disappointed with the crowds. No, I’m disappointed with Maggot, and her lack of writing skill, and that some of these many police aren’t being sent to Columbia and NYU to keep the schools open and the students safe,” he wrote, referencing pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University at NYU in the past week that ended in over 100 arrests.
Mr Trump then reiterated baseless claims that the criminal charges against him are politically motivated and evidence of “election interference”.
“The Legal Scholars call the case a Scam that should never have been brought,” he wrote, without providing any evidence. “I call it Election Interference and a personal hit job by a conflicted and corrupt Judge who shouldn’t be allowed to preside over this Political Hoax.
“New York Justice is being reduced to ashes, and the World is breathlessly watching. Hopefully, Appellate Courts can save it, and all of the companies that are fleeing to other jurisdictions. They can no longer take a chance on New York Justice!”
Mr Trump has attempted to delay proceedings several times by claiming that Judge Merchan, who is prosecuting his case, should recuse himself from the trial over alleged conflicts of interest and indications of bias that meant he could not be fair.
He had previously claimed that the judge should be removed from the case because his daughter works as a consultant for the Democrats.
Judge Merchan addressed the two complaints at the start of the hearing on Monday, reiterating that he would not recuse himself.
He argued the defence team’s request was based on “a series of hints, innuendo and unsupported speculation”.
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