Conservative attorney George Conway said Monday that former President Trump’s description of the security outside the Manhattan courthouse is an “amazing lie.”
In remarks to reporters on Monday, Trump compared the scene outside the courthouse — where his hush money criminal trial is taking place — to Fort Knox.
“Outside looks like it’s supposed to be Fort Knox. There are more police than I’ve ever seen anywhere because they don’t want to have anybody come down. There’s not a civilian within three blocks of the courthouse,” Trump said Monday morning.
Fort Knox is a military installation in Kentucky, known for its extensive security because it is home to the U.S. Bullion Depository, holding a significant amount of the U.S. Treasury’s gold.
Conway, a frequent Trump critic, responded to the former president on the social platform X, writing, “This is an amazing lie, even for Trump.”
“There is virtually complete freedom of movement around that courthouse,” he continued.
Conway also reposted a video from the scene outside the courthouse that had the description, “This ain’t Fort Knox.”
MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle similarly took aim at the former president for what she characterized as a “false” description.
“This is categorically FALSE. Today is my first day attending the trial and Mr Trump’s description of the area surrounding the courthouse does not resemble the truth. People were lined up outside between barriers (press & non-press). And the park directly across from the courthouse is completely open to the public,” Ruhle wrote on X, in response to Trump’s remarks earlier Monday.
Trump has made similar comments in recent weeks concerning security around the courthouse.
CNN reported that after The New York Times published a story saying Trump was unhappy with the low turnout outside the courtroom at the start of the trial, Trump made false claims that “thousands of people were turned away” and said, “This courthouse is locked down; there’s not a person within five blocks.”
Trump faces 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records in connection to reimbursements to his ex-fixer, Michael Cohen, who paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to stay quiet about an alleged affair she had with the former president ahead of the 2016 election.
The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign for a response.