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CNN host Kaitlan Collins handed Donald Trump a backhanded and snarky compliment on Monday morning after the former president launched into a one-minute-long rant about the unfairness of his being tried in the Manhattan hush-money case.

Flanked by a phalanx of attorneys and security, the former president addressed the press and claimed he's facing a case that never should have been brought — and then tried to pin it on President Joe Biden.

'Nothing like this has ever happened before, there's never been anything like it," he insisted. "Every legal scholar has said, this case is nonsense. It should never have been brought."

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He later added, "It's an assault on America and that's why I'm proud to be here. This is an assault that our country and it is a country that is failing, it's a country that's run by an incompetent man who is very much involved in this case."

After turning on his heel and ignoring shouted questions, CNN's Collins told viewers, "There is Donald Trump, he did say one thing that is accurate: this is a historic case, one like we have not seen in our country's history, a former president facing criminal charges and about to go to into that courtroom."

She later added, "He said several things that are not true that he has been saying repeatedly about this case. You've likely heard the fact checks of them before that this is a case that is politically motivated and being led by his opponent here, President Joe Biden.

"That is not the case. this was a case that was brought by the Manhattan district attorney, a jury indicted him in this case and agreed to that and signed off on it. That is why we are here where we are today."

Watch below or at the link.

CNN 04 15 2024 09 30 17 youtu.be

Donald Trump's legal team was expecting around just 40 percent of jurors to be dismissed from his New York hush money criminal case over the question of whether they can be impartial, but more than half of the 96 jurors were dismissed en masse due to their admitted inability to be unbiased.

While at least 50 of the potential jurors were let go over their inability to be impartial, others bowed out over potential conflicts.

Also read: Trump 'glares' at NYT's Maggie Haberman in courtroom after she reports he was sleeping

Speaking on CNN Monday, network legal analyst Elie Honig said that it's "remarkable" how many jurors have so far been excused.

"... More than half the people said right off the bat, knowing one paragraph of information about this case, 'I cannot be [unbiased],' and walked out the door — that's gotta be a world record," Honig said during a panel discussion.

"And I think it speaks to just how polarizing Donald Trump is," Honig continued, adding that the juror exits could also be due to "how scared people are."

"Will this qualify legally as a fair trial or fair jury? Yes, in all likelihood. But let's also be real about what we're talking about here — Manhattanites overwhelmingly dislike Trump politically and personally," Honig said, pointing out that things would be much different in a county where the population overwhelmingly supports Trump.

"So let's be real, it's a very tough jury pool for Donald Trump, but sometimes that's how it goes."

Watch the video below or at this link.

Eli Honig on CNN 4/15/24 youtu.be