The Daily Fuckup

Donald Trump got a public correction in court Friday after saying the day before that he was “not allowed to testify” because of the gag order in his hush-money case. Judge Juan Merchan clarified that the order does not stop Trump from testifying if he chooses to do so.

The judge’s point was narrow and basic: the gag order restricts certain out-of-court comments about people connected to the case, including witnesses, jurors, court staff and others tied to the proceeding. It does not block Trump from taking the stand in his own defense.

That distinction matters because Trump’s comment suggested the order reached farther than it does. The dispute was not over whether he could testify; it was over whether the court’s speech limits applied to testimony. Merchan said they do not.

Trump had previously said he would “absolutely” testify, then later told reporters the gag order kept him off the stand. The judge’s clarification put the legal rule back in plain terms: the order limits certain public statements outside the courtroom, not a defendant’s ability to testify inside it.

The gag order itself was issued after the court found a need to curb inflammatory remarks about people involved in the case. On Friday, the record was corrected in open court for one specific point — the order did not bar Trump from testifying if he wanted to do that.