Former first lady Melania Trump is likely to be “extremely excited” that former President Donald Trump may miss their son Barron’s graduation ceremony, according to ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.
The former president requested during the first day of his criminal trial in New York on Monday that he be allowed to skip the trial on May 17 to attend Barron’s high school graduation. Followers of Trump’s MAGA movement have expressed outrage over New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan not immediately approving the request.
The trial is the first of four expected criminal proceedings against the ex-president, who is the presumptive GOP nominee in this year’s presidential election. He has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal 2016 hush-money payments to adult-film star Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
Despite no ruling on the May 17 absence being made, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday that it was “very unfair” that Merchan was “preventing me from proudly attending my son’s Graduation,” asking “who will explain” to his 18-year-old son “that his Dad will likely not be allowed to attend his Graduation Ceremony.”
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Cohen, who was previously jailed for paying Clifford $130,000 on what he says were Trump’s orders, said that he did not believe the former president went to any of his other children’s graduation ceremonies during a Tuesday interview on the Political Beatdown podcast of Ben Meiselas, co-founder of liberal anti-Trump group MeidasTouch.
The former Trump lawyer said that he “wasn’t aware that [Trump] went to any of the kids’ graduations,” before asserting that the former president previously took little interest in Barron’s schooling. He claimed that he and Melania Trump had instead made decisions like placing Barron in private schools in both Manhattan and Washington, D.C.
“I find it not just comical … I find it insulting that [missing Barron’s graduation is] the big issue,” Cohen said. “I missed my 25th anniversary and my wife’s 50th birthday because I was in Otisville [federal prison], in part because of things that I had done at the direction of and for the benefit of Donald Trump.”
Cohen, who was Trump’s “fixer” and close associate from 2006 to 2018, then suggested that Melania would be overjoyed by the possibility of her husband missing their son’s graduation. Melania’s absences from the Trump 2024 campaign trail have recently helped spark speculation that her relationship with the former president may be strained.
“I’m sure Melania is extremely excited he’s not gonna to be there,” said Cohen. “Rest assured, I’m not losing any sleep, nor am I going to shed a tear that Trump can’t go to Barron’s graduation.”
Newsweek reached out for comment to Trump’s office via email on Tuesday night.
The status of the relationship between the former president and Melania Trump has increasingly become the topic of speculation during the 2024 election cycle. On the rare occasions that the former first couple have publicly appeared together, some have suggested that Melania has appeared to be less than enthusiastic or even displeased.
Trump supporters have defended the ex-president over his marriage and family life, with a number of conservatives this week suggesting that he should ignore Merchan and “call his bluff” if he rules against allowing the graduation adjournment. Merchan warned Trump on Monday that he could be arrested if he has any unapproved court absences.
The conspicuous absence from the courtroom of any of Trump’s immediate family members during the early days of his Manhattan criminal trial has raised eyebrows for others this week, with claims that the ex-president has been “deserted” circulating on social media.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.