The Bizarre Reason Alina Habba Once Said She Was 'Ashamed' Of Her Profession
Donald Trump's lawyer Alina Habba decided to go to law school after listening to an inspirational speaker in high school. However, she hasn't always been happy to be a lawyer. In an interview on Fox News with Jesse Watters in June 2023, Habba said, "I'm embarrassed to be a lawyer at this moment, honestly. I am ashamed. I'm ashamed to be a lawyer," via X, formerly known as Twitter.
Her embarrassment seemed to be related to the charges that had been leveled against Trump. It was in the weeks after Trump made history by becoming the first president to be indicted on criminal charges at the end of March 2023 for falsifying business records in New York (for which he's been found guilty). Those were followed in early June 2023 by accusations of mishandling classified documents. It might seem as though Habba's embarrassment would be around the fact that Trump had allegedly done illegal things and that Habba was one of his lawyers — after all, one of Trump's former lawyers, Michael Cohen, has talked about being ashamed over his longtime connection with Trump. But Habba seemed more ashamed about the legal system more broadly, saying, "I'm ashamed that this is the state of our country, and it is so obvious that there's this dual system of justice," per X.
Social media lit up with people who were also ashamed of Alina Habba's lawyer status
Alina Habba talked with Jesse Watters about how she thought that Donald Trump's indictments were a distraction for voters and that seemed to have been the root of her self-shame for being a part of the legal system. "What they do is they say, 'Oh, look at this shiny ball, Jesse. Look at the shiny ball. Let's go after Trump. Whatever you hear about the Bidens, don't worry about it. Trump, Trump, Trump.' It's called Trump derangement syndrome and now it's becoming so sick."
Habba's critique about her profession in the light of Trump's indictments caught people's attention, and many of them agreed with her. Though not, perhaps, in the way that she liked. George Conway, longtime Trump critic, posted on X, "I, too, am embarrassed that she's a lawyer." Another person thought Habba should take that embarrassment as a sign, writing: "Excellent! Find another career where your lies don't affect the public. Give up your license."
Others seemed to be baffled as to why Habba, as a woman, would be defending Trump given how little regard he seems to have for women. Habba represented Trump in the E. Jean Carroll's sexual abuse and defamation cases, both of which he lost. In May 2023, Trump was found liable of sexual abuse and ordered to pay Carroll $5 million. In January 2024, Trump was ordered to pay an additional $83.3 million to Carroll for defamation.
Alina Habba isn't backing down in her support of Donald Trump
Alina Habba has quite a few critics both online and offline. Some are Donald Trump's ex-lawyers who have been unimpressed by her courtroom performance. Despite the haters, Habba has continued to be a staunch defender of Trump, both in and out of the courtroom. When questioned by the media after the $83.3 million judgment against Trump, she was asked about her role as Trump's lawyer. Habba said: "I'm not having any second thoughts about representing President Trump. It is the proudest thing I could ever do," via CNN.
While she wasn't formally working for Trump as his lawyer during his hush-money case in New York, Habba did show up for some of the trial and spoke to reporters in defense of Trump. Her talking points included what she felt was the unfairness of the judge's gag order and that Trump couldn't get a fair trial with a New York jury. Trump was found guilty in that case as well.