Donald Trump has been denied a request to postpone his trial in E. Jean Carroll’s defamation suit, despite his plans to attend his mother-in-law’s funeral and a campaign rally on the same day. Trump’s lawyers asked Judge Lewis Kaplan to delay the trial due to the passing of Amalija Knavs, Melania Trump’s mother. The trial was set to begin this Wednesday.
Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, stated that Trump needed to travel to Florida for the funeral and could not be in New York for the trial on Wednesday and Thursday. They proposed postponing the trial until the next week. However, Judge Kaplan rejected this request, noting that Trump could choose to attend the trial, the funeral, or both as he wished.
Later, Carroll’s lawyers highlighted a potential conflict in Trump’s schedule. They pointed out that Trump had a campaign rally planned in New Hampshire on the same day he was to be at his mother-in-law’s funeral. This rally, scheduled for Wednesday evening, was still open for public registration as of Saturday.
Trump took to Truth Social to express his dissatisfaction with Judge Kaplan’s decision, calling him a “bad person and an even worse Judge.” He accused Kaplan of refusing to delay the trial so that he could attend his mother-in-law’s funeral, despite the clash with his campaign event.
In the same post, Trump alleged that Kaplan had intentionally set the trial during the New Hampshire primary but did not address the Carroll lawyers’ letter about the campaign rally. The funeral is scheduled for Thursday, making it technically possible for Trump to attend all three events, albeit with a tight schedule.
