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(NewsNation) — Supporters of former President Donald Trump lined the streets outside the Alto Lee Adams Sr. U.S. courthouse in Florida Friday, as the GOP frontrunner attended a hearing in the federal case charging him with mishandling classified documents.
Throughout the campaign, Trump has continued to argue these appearances—some of which are not considered mandatory—are forcing him to alter his campaign schedule, a point he has hit on the campaign trail in rallies with supporters.
“I campaign in the day when I can. And when I can’t I campaign at night. I go to courtrooms, and we are doing very well,” he told a rally in Rock Hill, South Carolina on Feb. 23.
While he has campaigned at night after some hearings in the past two months, he has not always done so.
Trump arrived at a Manhattan courthouse for a Feb. 15 hearing regarding the hush money case against him. He told reporters, “I am supposed to be in South Carolina right now where other people are and again this is where I should be. I should not be in a courthouse.”
Trump did not have a campaign event scheduled in South Carolina that day, the next day or that weekend, according to his public campaign schedule. Trump would not return to South Carolina until Feb. 22 — almost a week later — where he campaigned in the state for one day and then attended his victory party on Feb. 24.
“This is how Trump makes himself a victim. Whether or not, he actually was supposed to be somewhere is immaterial,” GOP consultant Doug Heye said. “This could have, and should have, been a line of attack from his primary opponents. That Donald Trump will be distracted by all of these court cases and not able to focus 100% on Joe Biden.”
The Trump campaign did not return NewsNation’s request for comment for this story.
Trump has made these court appearances a fixture in his campaign message in the last few months, often calling them “election interference.”
His comments before and after appearances often get significant press coverage as he denounces the prosecutions. His campaign also uses these appearances in its fundraising efforts.
“Trump is correct. Any American facing the legal challenges of Trump would feel the need to attend as many hearings as possible due to the intense media scrutiny of these hearings. Pushing back against the media coverage is necessary,” Republican consultant Ford O’Connell said.
Back in January, Trump chose to attend the New York hearings in the defamation trial of E. Jean Carroll against him and the civil fraud trial concerning the valuation of his company. He went back and forth several times between court appearances in New York and evening campaign rallies in New Hampshire ahead of its primary.
“Court is his campaign prop,” said one leading Republican political consultant who asked not to be named.
The schedule equation for him will be different once the trials in the four cases he is facing begin, though it’s unclear how many will go to trial before Election Day this November.
Jury selection in the New York hush money case begins on March 25, and as the defendant, Trump is required to attend court every day. He told reporters he plans to attend the trial during the day and travel to campaign events in the evenings.
“One of the key messages Trump wants to push is the notion that there are two standards of justice. And it is a message that is resonating beyond the Republican base,” O’Connell said.
Aside from political messaging, the legal bills stemming from these cases could become a detriment for the former president.
One of the major political groups supporting Trump’s candidacy – Save America, his leadership political action committee – spent almost $3 million in January on legal expenses, according to a Federal Election Commission report.
This group has become the major avenue Trump’s legal fees are being paid. Last year that group spent roughly $50 million on them. A separate Trump-affiliated group, Make America Great Again, spent nearly $4 million on legal expenses in the second half of 2023.
“I have so many lawyers. Lawyers are my best friend,” Trump joked at the Rock Hill rally.
While Trump is not allowed to directly use campaign donations to pay his legal bills, campaign finance experts said he is using creative ways for supporters to help defray those costs. He has set up a joint fundraising committee where donations are divided—90% to his campaign and 10% of the Save American PAC.
“Federal campaign finance laws generally prohibit using campaign funds—i.e., money contributed to candidates to help them campaign for and win federal office—for personal expenses, including fees and expenses related to litigation over personal matters,” said Erin Chlopak, senior director of campaign finance, at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center.
However, he said the Federal Election Commission recently ruled the group Trump is using is allowed to pay such bills even though it is established and controlled by him.
“There are decades of examples of candidates exploiting the lax rules around leadership PACs… Former President Trump has joined in this parade by using funds from his leadership PAC to pay for extensive personal legal expenses,” Chlopak said.
