NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s four years in the White House, even on some of the most consequential days of his presidency, were punctuated by the spectacle and attempts at showmanship he cultivated from years as a tabloid fixture and reality star.
The former president’s history-making appearance Tuesday as a criminal defendant in a Florida federal court was no different.
The former commander in chief, accused of being careless with some of the country’s most sensitive secrets and obstructing authorities as they tried to recover critical documents, pleaded not guilty to 37 charges. But he treated the day like a campaign event, even as he faces serious threats to his political ambitions and his freedom.
Takeaways from Trump’s day in federal court:
ALWAYS CAMPAIGNING
Despite the seriousness of the charges, Trump, ever the showman, sought to maximize any political benefits from the day. The Republican had encouraged supporters to show up at the federal courthouse — and hundreds did — while the 2024 presidential candidate fired off a few posts on his social media app, calling it a “WITCH HUNT” and “ONE OF THE SADDEST DAYS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY.”
After leaving the courthouse, his motorcade ferried him to an iconic Cuban restaurant in Miami, where he bowed his head with two pastors and a rabbi for a moment of prayer, shook hands with supporters and and even managed to crack some smiles and jokes as he posed for photos, including one with UFC fighter Jorge Masvidal.
He initially kept a fairly grim expression as people in the restaurant began serenading him with “Happy Birthday,” a day before his 77th birthday.
“Some birthday. Some birthday,” he said. “We’ve got a government that is out of control.”
Just like he did after his arraignment in New York, Trump planned a speech afterward from one of his golf clubs. He spoke Tuesday night from his Bedminster, New Jersey, resort, where he is spending the summer.
In a maundering speech, Trump grimaced and repeated his claims of the investigation being politically motivated, called prosecutors “thugs” and claimed he was so busy that he hadn’t had time to go through all the boxes of documents and memorabilia he had kept. He also said that if elected president next year, he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate President Joe Biden and his family.
The whirling drama surrounding Trump overshadowed most other news Tuesday. His GOP presidential rivals largely refrained from any campaign events of their own. One Republican competitor, Vivek Ramaswamy, sought to capitalize on the spectacle by showing up outside the courthouse to tell reporters that he was encouraging other 2024 candidates to commit to pardoning Trump if elected to the White House.
