Donald Trump shared some sad news on Monday, telling reporters that it "looks like" he will miss his son Barron's graduation because of the liberal judge in his "hush money" trial.
Trump's statement led to an outpouring of sympathy for the Trump family, and a media frenzy as liberal news outlets accused Trump of lying.
The judge, Juan Merchan, has deferred a decision on whether Trump can skip court for Barron's big day.
While nothing is official yet, the judge has left the door open to Trump missing Barron's graduation if the trial is behind schedule.
The Barron intrigue is not the only family drama surrounding the case.
Trump has criticized the judge for refusing to step aside over his daughter's work for prominent Democrats, including Joe Biden.
The judge also donated to Biden in 2020, breaking legal norms in the process. Trump has labeled the judge "evil," and the Republican presidential candidate is certain to leverage any opportunity to paint the judge as capricious and vindictive.
The judge has warned that Trump could be jailed if he skips the proceedings at any point during the trial, which could last six weeks. Barron's graduation is on May 17. Merchan has already ruled Trump can't attend Supreme Court arguments in his immunity case, but the judge appears somewhat sensitive to the poor optics of forcing Trump to miss an important milestone for his child.
"It really depends on how we are doing on time and where we are in the trial," the judge said.
Trump has made no secret of the fact that Barron makes him a proud father. The 18-year-old bears a striking resemblance to his dad and has impressed many with his incredible stature.
"It looks like the judge will not let me go to the graduation of my son who's worked very, very hard and he is a great student," Trump said Monday.
"He's a great student and he's very proud of the fact [that] he did so well and was looking forward for years to having his graduation with his mother and father there."
"It looks like the judge isn't going to allow me to escape the scam. This is a scam trial," Trump added.
Some have encouraged Trump to call the judge's "bluff" and attend the graduation anyway.
