The day before the grand jury convened by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg voted to indict former President Donald Trump over his alleged role in hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, Trump praised the grand jury as it appeared an indictment may either not be coming quickly or possibly at all.
Trump sounded off in an all-caps post on his Truth Social platform Wednesday as news outlets ran headlines appearing to favor Trump, reporting that the grand jury would be taking a month-long, pre-planned hiatus in April:
I HAVE GAINED SUCH RESPECT FOR THIS GRAND JURY, & PERHAPS EVEN THE GRAND JURY SYSTEM AS A WHOLE. THE EVIDENCE IS SO OVERWHELMING IN MY FAVOR, & SO RIDICULOUSLY BAD FOR THE HIGHLY PARTISAN & HATEFUL DISTRICT ATTORNEY, THAT THE GRAND JURY IS SAYING, HOLD ON, WE ARE NOT A RUBBER STAMP, WHICH MOST GRAND JURIES ARE BRANDED AS BEING, WE ARE NOT GOING TO VOTE AGAINST A PREPONDERANCE OF EVIDENCE OR AGAINST LARGE NUMBERS OF LEGAL SCHOLARS ALL SAYING THERE IS NO CASE HERE. DROP THIS SICK WITCH HUNT, NOW!
The post
Many pundits, journalists, and observers were quick to reshare Trump’s post as he raged on Truth Social following news of the indictment, which reportedly includes some 34 different counts.
Politico’s Kyle Cheney wrote, “Thank goodness the indictment came from a grand jury that Trump only yesterday said had restored his faith in the entire grand jury system.”
CNN’s Alayna Treene added, “Trump on Truth Social, just yesterday, was saying he has gained “SUCH RESPECT FOR THIS GRAND JURY, & PERHAPS EVEN THE GRAND JURY SYSTEM AS A WHOLE” arguing the Manhattan grand jury was saying, “HOLD ON, WE ARE NOT A RUBBER STAMP” — less than 48 hours before he was indicted.”
Brian Tyler Cohen noted, “I still can’t get over the fact that he posted this literally yesterday.”
Below are some additional reactions to the post following news of the indictment: