MAGA Rages After Trump Trial Delay

Some conservatives and supporters of Donald Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement expressed anger on Monday after a request to delay the former president's civil defamation trial was brought partially by his lawyer, Alina Habba.

Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, faces a second defamation trial from E. Jean Carroll, a former Elle columnist, that began last Tuesday and will determine how much Trump owes in damages.

A civil trial that concluded last May found that Trump was liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll, who ultimately was rewarded $5 million. The accusation of defamation against Trump follows his denial that he sexually assaulted her at a Bergdorf Goodman department store in the 1990s in New York City.

In 2019, he said Carroll was "not my type," suggesting she made up the allegation. In this lawsuit, Carroll is seeking $10 million in damages. Trump has continued to maintain that he is not liable in the case brought by Carroll.

Carroll said that Trump's 2019 comments made at the White House "smeared her integrity, honesty and dignity – all in the national press."

Before proceedings began on Monday, Habba asked Judge Lewis Kaplan, who is overseeing the civil defamation trial, for a one-day adjournment when she said she wasn't feeling well after one or both of her parents were exposed to COVID-19.

"Alina Habba's parents were exposed to COVID, but she tested negative. She has asked for a daylong adjournment," Adam Klasfeld of The Messenger wrote on X. "Judge Kaplan grants the request."

According to Klasfeld, Habba noted on Monday that the New Hampshire primaries are scheduled to be held on Tuesday and requested the judge to allow Trump to testify on Wednesday.

"Carroll's attorney opposes, saying they should wrap up tomorrow. The judge reserves decision," Klasfeld wrote.

Additionally, Molly Crane-Newman of the New York Daily News, reported on X that a juror in the trial was also feeling sick prompting the delay. "Juror No. 3 was 'on the way to the city but feeling hot and nauseous' this morning," she wrote.

Meanwhile, some conservatives, like Representative Elise Stefanik, became angered on social media at the delay in Trump's trial.

"This is blatant election interference! [President] Joe Biden and his Democrat cronies are the true threats to democracy!" Stefanik, a New York Republican, wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "TRUMP 2024!"

In a statement to Newsweek on Monday afternoon, a spokesperson for Stefanik's reelection campaign, Team Elise, said: "As reported by The Washington Post, President Trump's attorney, Habba, asked to delay the trial until Wednesday, not Tuesday, the day of the New Hampshire primary.

"The trial shouldn't have ever been set the day before an election, handicapping President Trump's ability to campaign. Let's be clear: the only reason these cases are going forward is because Donald Trump is running for president and is beating Joe Biden in the polls. This is election interference and voters won't be fooled."

Representative Lance Gooden, a Texas Republican, also called the delay of Trump's trial "ELECTION INTERFERENCE!" on X.

Gooden previously showed his support for the MAGA movement following Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' announcement on Sunday that he's suspending his 2024 presidential campaign.

"We must all work together to defeat Joe Biden and the radical left this November! We have a country to save! MAGA!" Gooden wrote.

Newsweek reached out to Trump's spokesperson via email for comment.

In response to Stefanik's X post, George Conway, a vocal Trump critic who was previously married to Trump's former senior adviser, Kellyanne Conway, wrote: "Liar. Alina Habba agreed to the one-day postponement, which was prompted by a juror's illness."

CNN chief legal correspondent Paula Reid also responded to the anger, asking, "What? The judge gave lawyers the option to continue with just eight jurors, after one went home sick, but Trump lawyer said she wanted an adjournment for the day. The Trump team had a choice and chose not to proceed today."

Alex Bruesewitz, the CEO of X Strategies LLC and a Trump supporter, responded to Reid's X post and wrote, "@AlinaHabba asked for a Wednesday court date, not Tuesday. This is just not truthful. @EliseStefanik is spot on when she calls this ELECTION INTERFERENCE. This case is a total sham. So is Alvin Bragg case, the Jack smith cases, and the Fani Willis witch hunt. It's all election interference!"

However, according to Ben Feuerherd of The Messenger, Kaplan has yet to rule on possibly allowing Trump to testify on Wednesday, which would allow him to attend the New Hampshire primary.

"'Circumstances may result in your getting what you ask for and maybe not,' Judge Kaplan said," Feuerherd wrote on X.

Update, 1/22/24, 2:13 p.m. EST: This story has been updated to include a statement from Stefanik's team.