Shortly after leaving the courtroom on Tuesday evening, former President Donald Trump made a campaign stop at a New York City bodega where a clerk in 2022 fatally stabbed a customer in self-defense.
The Context
Trump on Monday became the first former president in U.S. history to stand trial in a criminal case, as his hush-money proceedings began with jury selection. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has charged Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records tied to hush money paid to former adult-film star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 presidential election.
Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels and has pleaded not guilty to all charges, repeatedly accusing Bragg of political persecution as he campaigns for reelection.
What We Know
Jury selection continued Tuesday, with Trump in the courtroom, and afterward, he went to a convenience store on 139th Street and Broadway in West Harlem for a campaign appearance. The former president stopped by Sanaa Convenient Store, a bodega formerly known as Blue Moon Convenient Store.
Trump aides said he chose the store because it was the site of a male customer's attack on an employee in 2022, according to the Associated Press (AP). Store clerk Jose Alba, 61, was originally charged with second-degree murder following an encounter with a violent patron but was later cleared of all charges.
"They want law and order ... every week they're being robbed," Trump said of businesses in the city, as he tried to compare his criminal prosecution with the state of New York streets while addressing the crowd and media outside the bodega, the AP reported.
"You know where the crime is? It's in the bodegas," Trump said.
Newsweek reached out via email on Tuesday to Trump's representatives for comment.
Views
Before Trump arrived at the bodega, his campaign posted an online statement, criticizing Bragg for his handling of the stabbing case, which included Alba spending nearly a week jailed at Rikers Island without bail.
"President Trump's visit to one of New York City's bodegas comes at a time when retail theft is skyrocketing and the New York City police force is on track to fall to its lowest numbers since the 1990s by 2025," the statement reads. "Bodegas are a lifeline to underserved communities, and President Trump believes that only by undoing the Democrat party's soft-on-crime policies can law and order be fully restored to every borough throughout New York City."
The Bodega and Small Business Group (BSBG), which states on its website that the group represents owners of NYC bodegas, said in an online statement shared on Trump's campaign website that the group is "honored" to host the former president at the Manhattan store.
BSBG's statement also blasts Bragg, saying the district attorney "only backed off after an angry public campaign from store owners and their supporters united behind Mr. Alba and his Constitutional rights."
The group thanked Trump for his "support on behalf of tougher enforcement for retail thieves," stating that the ex-president's backing comes as state legislators have failed to strengthen laws against repeat retail theft offenders.
BSBG President Francisco Marte wrote: "The visit of President Trump highlights just how much we have lost the way in New York. It is our hope that a former president coming to support NYC's smallest stores, and also to demonstrate his support for stronger laws and enforcement, will spur our own elected officials to action."
Newsweek reached out via email on Tuesday night to BSBG and Bragg's office for comment.
What's Next?
Trump will be back in court this week. Only seven jurors have been selected and sworn in as of Tuesday. In total, 12 jurors will be chosen, along with six alternates. Court is off every Wednesday and the trial will resume at 9:30 a.m. ET Thursday. At that time, jury selection will continue with a second group of 96 prospective jurors.
Update 04/16/24, 9:45 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Maura Zurick is the Newsweek Weekend Night Editor based in Cleveland, Ohio. Her focus is reporting on U.S. national news ... Read more
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