Donald Trump is set to headline a political fundraiser on the day he demanded a break in his hush money trial so that he could attend his youngest son Barron’s high school graduation. The Minnesota Republican Party announced that the former president will headline its annual Lincoln Reagan Dinner event on 17 May. The fundraiser will be held in Saint Paul, Minnesota, a three hour and 45 minute flight from West Palm Beach, Florida, where Barron’s graduation ceremony will take place.
Trump’s busy schedule comes after he falsely claimed the judge in his hush money trial wouldn’t give him a day off to attend his son’s graduation from Oxbridge Academy. At the start of the trial in April, Trump’s legal team asked the judge to allow the criminal defendant the day off. Judge Juan Merchan told Trump he would not make a decision until the trial was underway, saying he would not be able to grant the request if the trial was running behind schedule.
Mr. Trump’s other sons and allies have also expressed outrage at the judge’s decision. Donald Trump Jr. reposted a video compilation made by right-wing online personality Jack Posobiec calling Judge Merchan’s non-existent decision “pure evil.” Senate candidate Kari Lake called the judge “corrupt”, “heartless” and “cruel,” while Utah Senator Mike Lee wrote that it was “deliberately cruel.”
Trump’s appearance in Minnesota on 17 May comes after he once vowed never to visit the state again if President Joe Biden won it in the 2020 election. Barron has largely been kept out of the spotlight, and it is unclear where or if he plans to attend college. A source close to the Trump family told PEOPLE in March that if Barron goes away to college, there is a chance that Melania Trump will follow him wherever he goes to school.