Trump Appears to Be Ditching Barron’s Graduation for a Fundraiser

Donald Trump got a day off from his hush-money trial next week after requesting to attend his son Barron’s high school graduation. But on the same day, he’s actually scheduled to attend a fundraising dinner in Minnesota.

Trump is required by New York state law to attend all of the proceedings in his hush-money trial, so his legal team had to file a motion with Judge Juan Merchan asking permission for the trial to be put on hiatus on May 17. Merchan agreed to do so, but Trump is also scheduled to be the headline speaker at the Republican Party of Minnesota’s annual Lincoln Reagan Dinner in St. Paul that day. (Barron is graduating from Oxbridge Academy in Palm Beach, Florida.)

Trump has complained to reporters since mid-April that Merchan was not allowing him to go to his son’s graduation.

“It looks like the judge will not let me go to the graduation of my son who’s worked very, very hard and he is a great student,” Trump said outside of the courtroom three weeks ago. “It looks like the judge isn’t going to allow me to escape this scam. It’s a scam trial.”

At the time, Trump’s former fixer and attorney Michael Cohen called Trump’s complaints “comical,” saying he wasn’t aware of Trump attending any of his other children’s graduations. Reportedly, Trump’s wife, Melania, was not happy with the former president mentioning their son’s graduation in court and bringing unwanted attention upon the younger Trump.

“He talked about missing Barron’s graduation to the cameras and then again on Truth Social because it caused a lot of coverage about that, and it’s just not something she would have liked,” said Stephanie Grisham, a former White House press secretary under Trump.

So how do Barron and Melania feel about the former president appearing at a campaign event on the same day as the graduation? It’s not yet known. Trump could use his private jet to attend both Barron’s graduation and the Minnesota dinner, assuming his son’s graduation isn’t later in the day. Regardless, the Minnesota Republican Party is happy to have Trump as a guest.

“We are thrilled to welcome President Trump back to Minnesota to headline our Lincoln Reagan dinner, an annual tradition that reminds us of the roots of our Party and the leaders who have been most impactful in promoting our American values. I can think of no one more fitting to join us this year than President Trump,” Minnesota GOP chair David Hann said in a statement.