Trump gets by with a little help from his friends during New York hush money trial

NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump has to appear in a Manhattan criminal courthouse four days a week. He has complained about the proceedings and how they impact his 2024 campaign efforts. So, he's bringing friends to make the days a little better.

From Texas to Florida and Ohio to Alabama, Trump's allies have made a trip to New York to attend part, or whole days, of Trump's historic criminal trial. This is the first criminal trial against a sitting or former U.S. president.

Trump has solidified his status as the leader of the Republican Party. As he runs for president for a third time as the party's top contender, he utilizes the courtroom as just another stop on the campaign trail, even as it has kept him out of the traditional campaign arena.

His campaign regularly sends out fundraising emails, falsely boasting that he has "stormed" out of the courtroom after unfavorable rulings and he brings his closest allies to the courtroom itself.

Still, all guests volunteer to come to court to support their friend, President Trump, and are not invited by the campaign, according to a Trump campaign official.

The biggest crowd came on Tuesday, when House Speaker Mike Johnson, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), vice president hopeful and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy flanked the former president. Standing behind Trump as he spoke to reporters outside the courtroom, the guests enjoyed Trump's praise.

"I do have a lot of surrogates and they are speaking very beautifully," Trump boasted. "They come from all over, and they're highly respected and they think this is the biggest scam they've ever seen...election day cannot get here soon enough."

Johnson,