Republican Rep. Mike Lawler (N.Y.) on Sunday said “families should always be off-limits” after former President Trump lashed out at the daughter of the Manhattan judge overseeing his hush money trial.
When asked on CNN’s “State of the Union” if Trump’s recent attacks against the judge, the judge’s daughter and President Biden crossed a line, Lawler said, “Look, I think, obviously, the former president has every right to defend himself in court. He has every right to defend himself as — through the proper legal channels.”
“I think everyone needs to tone down the rhetoric, the language. And, obviously, social media has become a vehicle by which to bludgeon people,” he added. “I just think, at the end of the day, the former president, current president, and on down, all of us have a responsibility to check our language, to watch what we’re saying, and to focus on the issues at hand.”
Trump came under fire last week, when he attacked Judge Juan Merchan, who recently imposed a gag order against the former president in the hush money case. Trump also targeted Merchan’s daughter, Loren, who is a Democratic political consultant.
Loren Merchan was an executive at progressive political consulting firm Authentic Campaigns, which worked on campaigns for various Democrat leaders including Vice President Harris, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Biden — Trump’s main 2024 opponent.
The former president on Truth Social posted a lengthy rant last week reacting to an account on X, formerly Twitter, that initially appeared to belong to the judge’s daughter and had a photo illustration of an imprisoned Trump as its profile picture.
The New York state Office of Court Administration (OCA) said last week the account was no longer associated with Loren Merchan, adding that she deleted the account about one year ago.
“State of the Union” co-anchor Dana Bash on Sunday also pointed to a video Trump posted to his Truth Social account last week of a truck displaying a printed photo of Biden lying sideways and tied up.
Lawler continued to discuss what he believes to be the priorities of the American people before Bash interjected and said she asked him about “this specific issue,” and if he denounces the attacks.
“Families should always be off-limits,” Lawler responded. “Obviously, the former president has every right to defend himself in court. But I think the focus of this campaign and this election should be on the American people and the issues facing the American people.”
Lawler later said he is “not focused right now on the presidential race” when asked if he would support Trump’s reelection bid. “At some point, I’m sure I will have a comment with respect to the presidential race, but, right now, I’m focused on my district.”
Trump faces 34 counts in New York accusing him of illegally falsifying business records when reimbursing his ex-fixer, Michael Cohen, for making a payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to conceal an affair ahead of the 2016 election. He pleaded not guilty, and Merchan has set a trial date of April 15 in the case.