Republican Rep. Mike Lawler (N.Y.) stated Sunday that “families should always be off-limits” after former President Trump slammed the daughter of the Manhattan judge overseeing his hush money case.
When asked on CNN’s “State of the Union” if Trump’s recent assaults on the judge, the judge’s daughter, and President Biden went too far, Lawler responded, “Look, I think, obviously, the former president has every right to defend himself in court. He has every right to defend himself—through the correct legal processes.
“I think everyone should tone down the rhetoric and vocabulary. And, obviously, social media has become a tool for bullying people,” he said. “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 for attacking Judge Juan Merchan, who just issued a gag order against the former president in the hush money case. Trump also targeted Merchan’s daughter, Loren, a Democratic political consultant.
Loren Merchan was an executive of Authentic Campaigns, a progressive political consulting business that worked on campaigns for several Democratic leaders, including Vice President Harris, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), and Biden, Trump’s primary 2024 opponent.
Last week, the former president of Truth Social tweeted a lengthy rant in response to an account on X, formerly Twitter, that appeared to belong to the judge’s daughter and featured a photo illustration of an imprisoned Trump as its profile picture.
The New York State Office of Court Administration (OCA) announced this week that the account was no longer affiliated with Loren Merchan, who deleted it around a year ago.
On Sunday, “State of the Union” co-anchor Dana Bash referenced a video Trump posted to his Truth Social account last week showing a truck with a printed portrait of Biden lying sideways and tied up.
Lawler went on to describe what he believes are the goals of the American people before Bash interrupted and noted she had questioned him about “this specific issue,” as well as if he condemned the attacks.
“Families should always be off-limits,” Lawler answered. “Clearly, the former president has the right to defend himself in court. However, I believe that the focus of this campaign and election should be on the American people and the concerns that they face.
Lawler later stated that he is “not focused right now on the presidential race” when asked if he would back 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.”
New York charges Trump with 34 counts of fraudulently altering business records while reimbursing his ex-fixer, Michael Cohen, for arranging a payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to conceal an affair prior to the 2016 election. He pleaded not guilty, and Merchan has set an April 15 trial date for the case.
