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Donald Trump has made a habit of railing against the judges and prosecutors presiding over his many pending legal cases, denouncing them as being corrupt and part of the Democratic political machine. The most prominent target of his ire right now is Juan Merchan, the acting New York State Supreme Court judge who is overseeing the ongoing hush-money trial against Trump. Throughout the case, Trump has tried to portray the veteran judge as biased and the overall case as a political “witch hunt” intended to harm his presidential campaign, insults that aren’t barred by the gag order placed on him. But on Tuesday, the former president went further, employing a familiar racist dog whistle against Merchan.
“The judge hates Donald Trump. Take a look. Take a look at him. Take a look at where he comes from,” Trump said after he exited the courtroom. “He can’t stand Donald Trump. He’s doing everything in his power.”
“The judge, [Juan Merchan], hates Donald Trump. Take a look at him. Take a look at where he comes from.”
Born in Bogota, Merchan emigrated from Colombia with his family when he was 6 years old and grew up in Jackson Heights, Queens. Per the New York Times, Merchan worked his way through college, graduating from Baruch College as an undergrad and receiving his law degree from Hofstra University’s School of Law. In a statement to NBC News, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung denied that Trump was referring to where Merchan was born and said that he meant the “Democrat political system, Democrat donors, and Democrat operatives.”
But Trump isn’t fooling anyone, especially given that he has wielded similar rhetoric against a judge before. In 2016, Trump criticized Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who presiding over a group of civil lawsuits against Trump University, the former president’s for-profit educational program that was accused of being fraudulent. Trump called Curiel a “hater” and suggested that he couldn’t be impartial in the case due to his Mexican heritage. Curiel, the son of Mexican immigrants, was born in Indiana. “I’m building a wall. It’s an inherent conflict of interest,” Trump told The Wall Street Journal in an interview.
At the time, Trump’s comments were rebuked by his fellow Republicans, including then-House Speaker Paul Ryan and presidential campaign rivals Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz. But in the present, these words from the presumed Republican Party nominee have yet to prompt a similar backlash.
