During a speech on Wednesday night, former President Donald Trump fumbled an insult directed at New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The presumed 2024 GOP presidential nominee, Trump, has been consistently launching attacks against James as he appeals the civil fraud lawsuit filed against him by the New York prosecutor in September 2022. In the lawsuit, James accused the former president, The Trump Organization, and company executives of fraudulently overvaluing assets in order to secure more favorable bank loans and taxation deals.
New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron ruled in February that Trump is guilty of fraud. As a result, he ordered the former president to pay almost $355 million, along with interest. Additionally, Trump is prohibited from conducting any business in New York for a period of three years. Despite these findings, Trump continues to assert his innocence and claims that the case is driven by political motives.
During a recent event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, the former president made a peculiar speech where he mistakenly referred to Letitia James as “Letitia Jones” while attempting to mock her.
“They assigned him to the state of New York and eventually to the D.A.’s office to handle the case. President Joe Biden is overseeing this.”
“They placed a man in the state … Letitia Jones. I affectionately call her Peekaboo. Peekaboo. They assigned a man to oversee her, Letitia, they assigned a man to oversee her and then he transitioned into the D.A.’s office,” Trump revealed.
A clip of Trump mistakenly referring to the attorney general as “Letitia Jones” was shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday by PatriotTakes, an account that tracks “right-wing extremism,” as mentioned in its X bio. The post has gained nearly 69,000 views within two hours of being shared.
It is unclear who Trump was referring to when he mentioned the man from the D.A.’s office. However, Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan District Attorney, has a previous experience as the chief deputy attorney general of New York. Trump has previously criticized Bragg, as he was the one who first filed criminal charges against the former president.
In March 2023, Bragg’s office indicted Trump on charges of falsifying business records in connection with a hush-money payment to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, maintains that this case is politically motivated. The trial is set to commence on Monday.
During Wednesday night’s speech, Trump referred to James as “Peekaboo,” although it remains unclear what he meant by this nickname. This is not the first time Trump has used this nickname for the attorney general, leading to accusations on social media that it may be a racial slur.