Donald Trump has been mocked for claiming that “people were actually crying” when he was arrested and arraigned in a New York court.
The former president, who has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records over hush money payments, made the claim during an interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News.
“They were incredible. When I went to the courthouse which is also a prison in a sense, they signed me in and I’ll tell you people were crying,” he claimed.
“People that work there. Professionally work there that have no problems putting in murderers and they see everybody. It’s a tough, tough place and they were crying. They were actually crying. They said I’m sorry.”
Video footage from inside the courthouse in Manhattan last week actually showed court staff refusing to hold open a door for Mr Trump as he walked in to face a judge.
The former president has routinely told far-fetched stories about people crying when they encounter him, always behind the scenes and off camera and often supposedly involving people associated with the military or law enforcement.
Twitter users were quick to make fun of the one-term president’s unlikely claims.
“People who worked at the courthouse were crying because they were happy to see the conman from Queens being arrested. One officer even let the door slam into Trump with tears of joy in his eyes,” wrote one user.
And another user added: “I’m telling you this guy has a strange life. Whole time just walking around people openly weeping when they see him.”
“It’s typical projection. He was crying,” tweeted another user.
And another added: “Dude, if they loved you so much, why did they let the door slam in your face.”