A trucker going by “Chicago Ray” has stepped back from previous pushes for a protest by truck drivers following the recent ruling in a New York fraud case against Donald Trump and others that brought down some $355 million in initial penalties.
The ruling was from Judge Arthur Engoron in the context of a fraud case originating with New York state Attorney General Letitia James, who alleged a years-long pattern of Trump and figures close to him financially benefiting from the misrepresentation of various assets’ value in contexts like loan negotiations. Trump himself touted the talk of protesting by truckers, but even Fox News picked up the story of “Chicago Ray” saying what was essentially nevermind, though he still supports Trump.
Striking a similar note, Trump pushed for protests in the context of what became his first criminal case, which was brought by local prosecutors in New York City alleging the falsification of business records in connection to hush money given before the 2016 election to Stormy Daniels, a woman with whom Trump allegedly had an affair. No matter the feverish pitch with which Trump has complained about his various courtroom hurdles, there wasn’t much in New York City in his favor in terms of on-the-ground demonstrations.
Close ally Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) showed up to protests outside a court building… and she left very quickly after speaking briefly into a bullhorn and then being escorted away. Greene was barely even audible onsite, turning afterwards to just complaining about the city. Trump’s New York case now looks like it’ll be the first to trial of his four criminal cases, with jury selection slated to begin towards the close of next month. The judge handling trial-level proceedings roundly rebuffed complaints from the Trump team about supposed impacts from trial prep on Trump’s ongoing campaign for president, in which he remains the front-runner for Republicans’ presidential nomination for 2024.
