Laura Ingraham Unimpressed at Donald Trump Nickname Being Used

Fox News host Laura Ingraham appeared to be decidedly unimpressed over CNN's on-air coverage of an unflattering nickname assigned to Donald Trump during his ongoing criminal trial.

Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in relation to so-called hush money he arranged for his lawyer, Michael Cohen, to pay adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep an alleged affair she had with the former president a secret ahead of the 2016 election.

The money was listed in Trump's company records as "legal fees," which prosecutors suggest was part of an unlawful attempt to influence the outcome of the 2016 race. Trump admitted to reimbursing the $130,000 to Cohen, but has denied all accusations of wrongdoing, saying that the trial is part of a political witch hunt aimed at derailing his bid for another term in the White House.

On April 22, days after the trial commenced, Cohen shared a photo of Trump in court on X, formerly Twitter, writing: "Hey Von S***zInPantz...your attacks of me stink of desperation. We are all hoping that you take the stand in your defense." The post appeared to be in reference to unverified reports that Trump had been passing gas in court during the trial.

With Trump having been hit with a gag order prohibiting him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors, court staff and their family members, the onetime real estate mogul's lawyer, Todd Blanche, read Cohen's post aloud in court on Thursday. Blanche argued that it was unfair for Trump to face such restrictions while witnesses can talk about him.

Ingraham later tackled this issue while hosting Fox News, as she played a clip of CNN's coverage of Cohen's X post being read out in court.

"I apologize for this update ahead of time," CNN host Jake Tapper said in the clip, before reporting that Trump's attorney had read the nickname aloud in court. Tapper then offered fellow host Dana Bash the opportunity to weigh in, prompting others on the panel during the broadcast to break into laughter.

When the broadcast cut back to a visibly unimpressed Ingraham, she took a lengthy pause before repeating CNN's tagline. "This is CNN," she said in a deadpan tone. "Where does James Earl Jones go to get his voiceover back?"

Newsweek has contacted representatives of CNN and Trump via email for comment.

New York Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing Trump's trial, on Tuesday fined the presumptive Republican 2024 presidential nominee $9,000 for seven messages posted on his Truth Social media platform and two messages on his campaign website. According to Merchan, the series of posts violated a gag order barring any attacks on jurors and witnesses.

In his written order, Merchan stated that he would not tolerate further violations from Trump, adding that "if necessary and appropriate," he would impose "an incarceratory punishment" on the former star of The Apprentice.

Last week, prosecutors presented four additional potential violations. Merchan subsequently scheduled a hearing to discuss those statements on Thursday morning, leading to Cohen's X post being read out in court. The judge did not rule from the bench.

In addition to Donald Trump's criminal trial in New York City, the U.S. Supreme Court is currently hearing arguments on his claims of presidential immunity, in connection to his federal indictment for alleged election interference.