Senior political correspondent Maggie Haberman suggested that former President Trump dissed his legal team during a press conference after another day in court as a “way to show dominance.”
Haberman joined CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Friday after Trump spent the day in a New York courtroom attempting to appeal the verdict against him in writer E. Jean Carroll’s lawsuit. Afterward, Trump spoke to the media, where he alternated between praising and criticizing his attorneys.
“It’s a way to show dominance. It’s a way to show what he wants, knowing they’re not going to say anything back to him, because this is a public setting, and they’re not going to turn to him and argue,” the New York Times correspondent told Collins, the host of CNN’s “The Source.”
“And it’s a way to humiliate,” Haberman added. “And that is something that we know that he has done with any number of aides, and lawyers, and advisers, and employees, over a number of decades.”
Trump said Friday that he has a lot of legal talent, but they can’t overcome “rigged judges.”
“I’m disappointed in my legal talent, I’ll be honest with you,” he said in an address from Trump Tower in New York City. “They’re good, they’re good people, they’re talented people.”
Haberman said she didn’t know of anyone who advised the former president to attend the court hearing Friday or to address the media. He was not required to attend the court proceedings, she noted.
“He chose to go to this hearing. And I understand it. He has made it very clear he wants to be at legal proceedings connected to him,” she said. “That is invariably going to draw attention to this news conference, and he didn’t take questions from us … All this is going to do is call more attention to that as well at a moment when he is trailing badly with women in polls.”
Earlier this year, a federal jury in New York ordered Trump to pay $83.3 million for defaming Carroll. The author alleged that Trump defamed her after she brought forth sexual assault allegations against him.
Haberman referenced his comments about Carroll specifically, where he laid out the legal case in “graphic detail.”
“He talked about allegations that frankly, I suspect much of the public doesn’t remember anymore, but if they were tuning in, they will,” she said.
Collins pointed out that he outlined talking points that his Democratic rival, Vice President Harris, could use as political fodder.
“I’m sure they will be after that press conference,” Haberman said.
The remarks also come after New York Judge Juan Merchan delayed the GOP nominee’s sentencing in his hush money case until after the presidential election, handing Trump a win.
Haberman also pointed out that while Trump likely doesn’t want to go to prison, sentencing could have been used as a political opportunity for him.
“His supporters have been galvanized around moments like that” in the past, she said, echoing comments made Friday by GOP strategist Karl Rove.