Former President Donald Trump suggested a new conspiracy theory before heading into court on Friday, hinting that the cold temperature in the courtroom was deliberate.
Trump spoke to the press, commenting that he felt “yesterday went very well,” adding, “it should be over, the case is over.” He then criticized Judge Juan Merchan, referring to him as “the most highly conflicted judge I’ve ever seen.”
During his remarks, Trump speculated about the chilly conditions in the courtroom. “So we have another day of court in a freezing courthouse — it’s very cold in there, on purpose, I believe,” he stated. “They don’t seem to be able to get the temperature up. It shouldn’t be that complicated, but we have a freezing courthouse and that’s fine. That’s just fine. Let ’em keep handing it out. There’s a rigged trial. Thank you very much.”
In a recent episode of The Bulwark Podcast, Olivia Nuzzi from New York Magazine noted that Trump wasn’t entirely wrong about the cold temperature. She explained that the courthouse is an old building, and attempts to raise the temperature could lead to dramatic fluctuations.
“It is very cold, but it’s a very old building, and when, last week, when his lawyers complained and they asked if they could just raise the temperature by one degree, it was explained to them that no, this is an old building. If you raise it by one degree, it’ll like raise by 20 degrees and then we’ll all be sweating and you don’t want that,” Nuzzi explained.
She also mentioned that on a day when the courtroom was reportedly warm, Trump was seen nodding off during the proceedings, indicating that cooler temperatures might help him stay alert.
