'Fake billionaire': Trump trolled for claiming to have enough money for reduced $175M bond in fraud case

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: Former President Donald Trump has asserted that he possesses sufficient funds to post a $175 million bond in the New York civil fraud case, following a significant reduction of the original amount from $454 million by an appeals court on Monday.

The presumptive GOP presidential nominee has confirmed that he holds $500 million in cash.

However, the 77-year-old MAGA strongman expressed his reluctance to post the entire bond sum in the civil fraud case, as he may require some of it for his 2024 presidential campaign financing purposes.

Per the New York Post, Trump has assured his commitment to paying the reduced amount, which he must provide within a period of 10 days, based on the New York appeals court ruling.

What did Donald Trump say following Monday's New York appeals court ruling?

The former POTUS declared, "I have a lot of cash," on Monday afternoon at a press conference at his 40 Wall St. building. “You know I do because you have looked at my statements.”

“I have much more than that in cash but I would also like to use some of my cash to get elected,” Trump told reporters. “But they don’t want me to use my cash to get elected. They don’t want me taking cash out to use it for the campaign.”

“We’ll put up cash or bond very quickly, securities, cash, or bond, whatever it is,” he stated. “We’ll put it up very quickly and we’ll win the case.”

During the press briefing, the real estate mogul provided an update following the favorable ruling.

Earlier that day, Trump was compelled to appear in a Lower Manhattan courtroom where the trial date for the criminal "hush money" case against him was set for April 15.

The former president blasted Judge Juan Merchan, who had previously postponed the trial that was scheduled to commence on Monday, for agreeing to the April date, accusing the judge of attempting to expedite the case during the election season.

“The judge cannot go fast enough,” Trump said. “He wants to get it started too badly.”

"It's not fair," Trump asserted of the trial date, adding that Merchan "knows that."

During Monday afternoon’s press conference that lasted approximately 20 minutes, former President Donald Trump reiterated several points he has previously made regarding his legal troubles.

He claimed that the cases against him are instances of "election interference" and a political "witch hunt."

According to Trump, these efforts are spearheaded by a Democratic plot led by President Joe Biden, who seeks to prevent him from winning in the 2024 presidential election.

The ex-commander-in-chief directed his criticism towards Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, who had previously found that Trump was guilty of committing fraud in his business dealings.

Justice Engoron issued a judgment against Trump amounting to $454 million last month. Trump also targeted New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office prosecuted the civil case against him.

“So what they do is they do election interference, which is court cases and let’s try and tie him up, and let’s take as much of his money as possible,” Trump remarked, adding. “I respect the appellate division for substantially reducing that ridiculous amount of money that was put on by a corrupt judge named Engoron that will be looked at.”

Additionally, he criticized Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office is handling the upcoming "hush money" trial, and also disparaged Matthew Colangelo, the lead prosecutor in the criminal case.

The former President of the United States argued that the prosecution's case against him was flawed due to several factors, including the alleged involvement of Department of Justice official Colangelo.

Bragg's office hired Colangelo in December of 2022, and Trump has claimed that Colangelo was working as part of a Democratic scheme against him.

“Colangelo is a radical left from the DOJ who was put into the state working for Letitia James, and was then put into the District Attorney’s office to run the trial against Trump,” Trump told reporters.

He asserted that James' civil lawsuit and the four criminal cases against him would not have been filed if he hadn't been seeking reelection.

“If I wasn’t running these trials wouldn’t be happening,” the 77-year-old claimed.

The jury selection process in the New York criminal case was originally scheduled to begin on Monday, March 25, but it was postponed because Trump's team said they needed more time to review the thousands of pages of newly turned-over evidence.

Stormy Daniels, an ex-adult film star, is accused of receiving cash from Trump to keep quiet about her alleged affair with him during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Justice Engoron, in Attorney General Letitia James' case, concluded that Trump had engaged in a fraudulent scheme spanning a decade, where the former president had allegedly inflated his net worth by billions of dollars annually on financial statements to access better loan and insurance terms.

Trump has expressed his intention to challenge Engoron's ruling, but he must either deposit the full $454 million cash or secure a bond for the same amount.

Trump's attorneys had requested a reduction or waiver of the bond amount, stating that they had encountered difficulties in securing a backer after approaching around 30 insurance firms.

The Appellate Division, First Department responded by reducing the bond amount to $175 million and stayed most of Engoron's decision until the appeal process was complete.

Trump has ten days to post the reduced bond, after which the stay of the case will take effect.

Internet mocks Trump for claiming ‘I have a lot of cash’ to post the reduced bond amount

People on X ridiculed the MAGA figurehead for telling reporters on Monday that he has enough money post the reduced $175M bond in the New York civil fraud case.

One X user remarked: "Fake billionaire."

Another user said: "Sure he does."

Another user wrote, "Yea that’s why he begs maga to pay his lawyer fees LOL"

One user asked, "What happened to the whole heap of cash?"

Another X user quipped, "He keeps it in the guest bathroom with the classified documents."

Finally, this user tweeted: "When you pad the numbers for more cash I guess"

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.