Donald Trump slammed for saying he 'won't be resting' after defense rests case without calling him to testify in hush money trial

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: Donald Trump did not take the stand in his own defense in the hush money trial in New York.

In a significant development during the criminal trial on Tuesday, May 21, the former president's attorneys officially rested their case, a day after the prosecution concluded theirs, according to The Hill.

Donald Trump says he would 'like to rest sometimes' amid hush money trial

Speaking outside the Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday morning, May 21, Trump said, “We’ll be resting pretty quickly — resting meaning resting the case. I won’t be resting."

“I don’t rest. I’d like to rest sometimes, but I don’t get to rest,” he added.

The defense's decision to rest the case marks the final stages of the hush money trial.

Judge Juan Merchan has scheduled closing statements for next Tuesday, May 28, with jury deliberations set to commence shortly thereafter.

Donald Trump previously hinted at the possibility of taking the stand in NY trial

The former president's decision not to testify comes after weeks of speculation.

At times, Trump hinted at the possibility of taking the stand in the historic trial while legal experts had cautioned it could be risky in his first criminal trial.

At other times, he ignored the questions about his possible testimony.

The 77-year-old politician's lawyers were uncertain about his decision to take the stand even as recently as last week.

On Thursday, May 16, Trump's attorney Todd Blanche told the judge that the former president taking the stand is "another decision that we need to think through."

Inside Donald Trump's hush money trial

Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying his business records in the criminal trial that stemmed from allegations of hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels to not disclose their alleged affair before the 2016 election.

The former president denied any wrongdoing in the case and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Donald Trump criticized for not taking the stand in hush money trial

Reacting to Trump's decision to not take the stand in his defense in the New York criminal trial, one user on X (formerly Twitter) wrote, "Since Trump didn’t bother to testify this should be a pretty easy guilty verdict."

One user wrote, "Trump has always been all talk and no action. He promised he'd testify, yet he was too afraid to take the stand."

"Trump's testimony can only hurt him. He knows that. The rest is his normal political posturing," a netizen tweeted while another user wrote, "DJT lies even when he doesn’t need to. It’s like exercising his lie muscles."

"We all knew there was zero chance the serial liar Donald Trump would testify," a user tweeted.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.