Former President Trump said Sunday that his weeklong criminal trial in New York and sentencing Thursday was “very hard” on his wife, Melania, amid testimony recounting his alleged infidelity.
Trump was convicted Thursday of 34 counts of falsifying business records, the first time a former president has been convicted of a crime. He appealed the decision.
The charges related to secret payments made in the weeks before the 2016 election intended to cover up alleged past affairs between Trump and an adult film star, which he denied.
The alleged affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels occurred in 2006, just a year after Trump married Melania and a few months after the birth of their son, Barron.
“She’s doing well, but I think it’s very hard on her,” Trump said of the former first lady in an interview on “Fox and Friends,” adding that “in many ways it’s harder for them. [his family] than me.
“I have a wonderful wife who has to listen to this stuff all the time. They do it for this reason. They do this, all these salacious names they give to these people, and I don’t even have the right to defend myself because of the silence. “Think about it,” Trump said, without specifying who “they” are.
“But they put this stuff in there to wreak havoc. They are bad people,” he continued. “I know everything they do. I know their every move; “I understand.”
Trump later said in the interview that he was “okay” with the possibility of going to prison. He could face up to four years in prison on these charges, although this is considered unlikely. His sentencing is scheduled for July 11.
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