The move by a New York judge to set a March 25 trial date in former President Donald Trump's hush money case is giving Republican presidential rival Nikki Haley more ammunition.
"Donald Trump is in court today. There will be a verdict on another case tomorrow. And he has a trial starting March 25. Meanwhile, he’s spending millions of campaign donations on legal fees. All of this chaos will only lead to more losses for Republicans up and down the ticket," Haley argued in a media post on Thursday.
Haley, a former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as U.N. ambassador in the Trump administration, is the last remaining major rival challenging Trump for the GOP nomination. But she faces a steep uphill climb against Trump, who remains the commanding frontrunner in the 2024 Republican presidential race.
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Haley's comments came soon after a New York City judge denied Trump's request to dismiss the indictment.
The former president faces 34 counts of falsifying business records in New York in connection with alleged hush money payments to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels made during the 2016 presidential campaign.
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Prosecutors argue the payments were an effort by Trump to hide a potential sex scandal, both before and after the 2016 election. The former president has pleaded not guilty to all charges, which were brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is a Democrat.
The ruling sets up the first criminal trial of a former president in the nation's history.
As he entered the courtroom, Trump claimed, "I'm here for something, it's not a crime, it's election interference and it's being run by Joe Biden's White House,"
And he reiterated that it's a "terrible time for our country. A real dark period."
Trump faces four trials this year, including two on charges he aimed to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Biden.
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Haley, pointing in part to Trump's legal entanglements, has repeatedly charged that Trump is "unhinged" and argued that "chaos" will follow if Trump returns to the White House. And she has regularly highlighted general election polls that suggest she's a stronger GOP nominee than Trump to take on Biden in November.
The judge in the hush money case, Juan Merchan, said the trial could last five to six weeks, with a possible ending in late April or early May.
Trump said ahead of today's ruling that he should be out campaigning instead of in court.
When pressed on when he will campaign during the trial, Trump replied: "I'll do it in the evening."
