Merchan has not prevented Trump from attending his son's graduation. In fact, when asked if Trump could be excused from court on Friday to attend the event, the judge stated that it was too early to rule on the matter but that if the trial proceeded as planned, he would be open to excusing the defendant. He did, however,
bar Trump from skipping trial dates to attend oral arguments on his bid to establish widespread presidential immunity from criminal prosecution, which are scheduled for next week.
As per usual, the actual events that took place in court have had little bearing on how Trump's supporters reacted to his claims. Trump's attorney, Alina Habba, repeated the accusation that Merchan barred Trump from attending the graduation during an appearance on Fox News'
Hannity. Habba also boosted
false claims that Merchan had effectively banned observant Jews from serving on the former president's jury.