PALM BEACH, FL—Following his recent arraignment on felony charges, former President Donald Trump appeared at Mar-a-Lago and launched what aides are calling his boldest rhetorical innovation to date: attacking the presiding judge and the judge’s family members, citing the need to “keep things fresh.”

Veteran Trumpologist Maggie Haberman explained the motivation behind the move. “After seven years, he’s exhausted his Rolodex of people to insult,” Haberman told reporters. “He already did Hillary, Rosie O’Donnell, and Don Lemon three times each. Frankly, the bench was due.”

Trump, surrounded by gold-plated eagles and modest buffets of shrimp cocktail, addressed the controversy by declaring, “If I can’t call the judge’s family ‘very unfair, possibly criminal people,’ then what did Jefferson even write the Constitution for?”

Adelaide Peterman, Trump’s newly appointed Chief Insult Strategist, defended the tactic. “After consulting with the Mar-a-Lago legal team and three guys at the omelet station, we concluded that targeting people tangentially related to the case is both legal and on-brand.”

Rumors that Trump plans to lambaste the judge’s dog, ‘Muffin,’ in his next speech could neither be confirmed nor denied. “All options are on the table. If that dog has a Twitter, we’re on it,” said Peterman, thumbing through a binder labeled ‘Potential Adversaries.’

Legal experts warn the strategy could backfire, but Trump supporters remain unfazed. “Frankly, if you can’t insult a judge’s cousin’s dentist’s college roommate in America, where can you?” asked longtime fan Darryl Guntman. “This is the freedom our Founding Fathers shot at each other for.”