Trump slams judge moments after leaving hush money trial: ‘Take a look at where he comes from’

Donald Trump raged against the judge presiding over his hush money trial in New York and one of the prosecutors moments after he stepped out of the courtroom on the final day of witness testimony.

In an 11-minute screed near the men’s bathrooms on the 15th floor of the criminal court building in downtown Manhattan, the former president said the Colombia-born judge “hates” him, adding: “Take a look at where he comes from.”

“Just take a look. Take a look at him. Take a look at where he comes from,” Mr Trump said on Tuesday. “He can’t stand Donald Trump. He’s doing everything in his power.”

New York Justice Juan Merchan is from Colombia and was raised in the borough of Queens, where Mr Trump also grew up.

His remarks appeared to echo Mr Trump’s other dog whistle attacks aimed at the judiciary; in 2016, Mr Trump said US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel couldn’t be impartial in US-Mexico border wall litigation because he’s Mexican.

Mr Trump – while flipping through printed-out columns from right-wing commentators – also ranted about inflation and repeated an antisemitic statement that Jewish Democratic voters “should have their head examined.”

He also appeared to baselessly suggest that President Joe Biden sent Assistant District Attorney Matthew Colangelo to prosecute him in this case to stop him from winning the 2024 presidential election.

Mr Colangelo, a former Justice Department official with a history investigating the former president and business, was tapped to join the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in 2022.

“Our country’s going to hell under Biden. But look at the person – why don’t you look at the person that argued their case, almost the entire case? Look at the person. Where did he come from? Unbelievable. He