Democrat New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gloated Tuesday that the Manhattan lawfare case against former President Donald Trump is achieving its goal of keeping him from campaigning.
Speaking to reporters outside Capitol Hill about Trump’s upcoming rally in the South Bronx, Ocasio-Cortez pointed out the former president is holding a rally in the deep-blue Empire State because he has a “legal version of ankle bracelet around him” and can’t easily campaign in battleground states.
“By the way, he’s doing [the rally] in the South Bronx not to make a point but because he’s got court and the man practically has the legal version of an ankle bracelet around him. And he can’t leave the five boroughs because he always has to be in court,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “And so it is truly an embarrassment to him.”
In Manhattan, District Attorney Alvin Bragg has accused Trump of wrongly classifying payments he allegedly made to his former lawyer, convicted liar Michael Cohen, to purchase the silence of pornographer Stormy Daniels as legal fees rather than as a campaign expense. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg alleged Trump had the story covered up because he didn’t want to hurt his electoral prospects. Cohen admitted on the stand, however, that Trump’s initial concern about the Daniels allegation was his family. Yet, Trump has been forced to sit in court while Bragg fulfills his campaign promise to use the justice system to target a political opponent.
And despite fever dreams from some Empire State-based Trump supporters, New York is not a winnable state for a Republican presidential candidate, even if he does increase his support amongst nontraditional voting blocs.
It’s much more important for Trump to be campaigning in battleground states like Georgia, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, North Carolina, Michigan, and Wisconsin. But as long as the trial continues, Trump is limited in his ability to visit battleground states mid-week thanks to a case experts on both sides of the aisle have dubbed “dubious.”
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A recent New York Times/Siena College poll found Trump leading Biden overall in five key swing states among both registered and likely voters. But for every day Trump cannot directly speak to those key voters, his edge is threatened.
Not only is Trump limited by appearing in Manhattan court, he is busy fighting off a handful of other lawfare cases brought in D.C., Georgia, Florida, and New York by state and local partisans as well as the Biden Justice Department. His legal defense is a massive drain on finances as well as time — in a civil case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, Trump is appealing a $454 million penalty.
Meanwhile, his opponent is not only free to campaign, but he’s fundraising off the lawfare by taunting Trump. President Joe Biden, in finally agreeing to debate Trump, mocked Trump’s limited availability — limits which are a direct result of the weaponization of the justice system.
“So let’s pick the dates [for the debate], Donald,” Biden said in a 14-second video. “I hear you’re free on Wednesdays.”
There is nothing humorous about Democrats’ campaign strategy of attempting to jail their top political opponent. While Biden is making light of it, other members of his party are accidentally saying the quiet part out loud, acknowledging the lawfare is election interference.
Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist.
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