As former President Donald Trump's first criminal trial kicks off this week, he made sure to get his shots in at a recent rally. 

According to Reuters, Trump took aim at New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan during a rally held in Pennsylvania over the weekend, and his audience couldn't get enough.

The former president will be in Manhattan beginning Monday to kick off his trial that resulted from charges brought against him by DA Alvin Bragg, who alleged Trump made "hush money" payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels through his "fixer" attorney Michael Cohen.

Many legal experts believe Bragg's case against Trump is flimsy, at best, and Trump's legal team or the president himself have not expressed any grave concerns regarding the possible outcome.

What did he say?

On Saturday night, in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, Trump got his MAGA rally crowd amped up when he brought up the judge and DA Bragg.

"I have a crooked judge. This has never happened before, you do know that, right?" Trump said, eliciting strong reactions from those in attendance who agree with the former president. Trump dialed in on the recent gag order imposed on him by Judge Merchan.

"Fully gagged before a highly conflicted and corrupt judge, who suffers from TDS. Does anyone know what TDS is? Correct. Trump Derangement Syndrome," Trump said.

42,000 people rally in Pennsylvania, highlighting President Trump's historic campaign momentumhttps://t.co/UokgDBB0Le

— RSBN 🇺🇸 (@RSBNetwork) April 14, 2024

Trump has long argued that not only is Bragg's case against him part of a larger political witch hunt, but he's also contended that in no way, shape, or form will he receive a fair trial in deep blue New York City.

The gag order effectively silenced Trump and his lawyers from saying anything about the judge, the court staff, other lawyers, and later on, a new gag order that banned him from speaking about the judge's family members.

Recent events mentioned

Aside from going after Merchan and Bragg, Trump took a shot at President Joe Biden over the unprecedented attack Iran launched against Israel over the weekend.

Trump insisted such an attack would not have happened on his watch.

"They're under attack right now," Trump said. "That's, that's because we show great weakness. This would not happen, the weakness that we've shown, it's unbelievable, and it would not have happened if we were in office."

Trump is expected to testify during the upcoming trial, though it's not clear to what extent.