Latino Trump Rally Speaker Apologizes to Judge Merchan

Newsmax

A speaker at Donald Trump’s rally in the Bronx on Thursday invoked his Latino heritage as he apologized to the accused Republican presidential candidate for the behavior of the judge in his criminal trial, Juan Merchan, who is also Latino.

At one point in his remarks, Trump welcomed to the stage former New York City Councilman Rubén Díaz, who is on paper a member of the Democratic Party but opposes abortion and same-sex marriage and many other unconventional positions. Díaz, who later endorsed Trump, mentioned the hush money trial taking place in Manhattan, where closing arguments are scheduled for early next week, and – as Trump himself often did – attacked Merchan.

“I am here for various reasons, but first I want to tell you that as a Puerto Rican and Latino, I want to apologize to you for the behavior of Judge Juan Merchan,” Díaz said. “As a Latino, I want to apologize. It was used to destroy you, but we know more.

The remarks came just days after Trump made what appeared to be discriminatory remarks against Mercan because of his country of birth, Colombia.

“The judge hates Donald Trump,” he said outside the courtroom on Tuesday. “Just look. Look at him. Look at where he’s coming from. He can’t stand Donald Trump. He’s doing everything he can.”

Judge Merchan’s order of silence – which Trump has violated nine times – prohibits him from speaking about witnesses, potential witnesses, jurors, prosecutors, court employees and their families, but not about Merchan himself or Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Trump, for his part, took full advantage of the carve-out.

“The judge ‘assigned’ to my witch hunt case, a ‘case’ that has NEVER BEEN DEFENDED BEFORE, HATES ME,” he complained in a Truth Social post last March.

Merchan also presided over tax fraud trials involving two Trump Organization companies and sentenced the organization’s former CFO, Allen Weisselberg, to prison on Rikers Island after pleading guilty to tax evasion.