'Stall tactic': Internet divided over Trump's rage against strike limit on jurors in his hush money trial

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Former president Donald Trump lashed out at the limitation to the number of times his legal team can veto potential jurors in his hush money trial that started on April 15, 2024, The Hill reported.

Unleashing his fury on Truth Social on Wednesday, April 17, the Republican presumptive nominee claimed he thought the strike limit was "unlimited." However, the state law allows the prosecution and defense to veto ten potential jurors to be a part of the trial since the case against Trump falls under Class E felony charges.

Both sides have already used six of the ten strikes allotted to each.

Donald Trump fumes against strike limits

"I thought STRIKES were supposed to be 'unlimited' when we were picking our jury? I was then told we only had 10, not nearly enough when we were purposely given the 2nd Worst Venue in the Country," the former president wrote on his social media platform. "Don't worry, we have the First Worst also, as the Witch Hunt continues! ELECTION INTERFERENCE!" he added.

Jury selection has been a time-consuming part since the trial kickstarted this week, with the court failing to find who would impartially decide whether Trump was guilty of the 34 counts for falsifying his business record to cover up $130 000 payment to Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election, which he won, to silence her about their affair.

After failing to find any partial ones on the first day of the trial, Justice Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the trial, picked seven jurors to sit for Trump's case in the Manhattan court.

The selected jurors were narrowed down from a first pool of 96 potential candidates who were required to answer 40 questions regarding their backgrounds, the media they consume, and their sentiments toward the defendant.

Most were dismissed after they signaled they could not be impartial while deciding on the case. The court should select 12 jurors and six alternates to determine whether Trump was guilty of the first criminal case out of the four indictments against him that went to trial.

During day two of the trial, Justice Merchan criticized Trump for trying to intimidate a juror. "I won't tolerate that," he said, before adding, "I will not have any jurors intimidated in this courtroom. I want to make that crystal clear."

Trump is the first president of the US, sitting or former, to go to trial for criminal charges.

Internet divided as Donald Trump lashes out over jury selection

Netizens had a divided opinion on Donald Trump's outrage over the veto limit in jury selection of his hush money trial.

One social media user labeled it "Stall tactic," while another remarked, "This entire prosecution has been so inflated, so overblown, so political it's truly ugly and frightening to watch. Zero confidence or trust in our justice system anymore."

"He doesn't play well with others -- and doesn't accept legal limitations," one person wrote. While another response read, "NYC has an endless supply of Trump haters. This is not a trial, it is a political persecution."

One individual wrote, "Dude born with a silver spoon thinks he gets unlimited chocolate cake." On the other hand, another person added, "I can understand the frustration; finding a truly impartial juror in that city is near impossible."

"Which is the same number of strikes given in ANY criminal trial. He is being treated the same as every defendant. He’s playing the victim as always, but he is not the victim in any way," another user argued.

One social media user said, "You mean pointing to the rigged trial filled with liberals who hate him."

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