But when the former president returned home, to his name rock filled with adoring fans, he was a rock star again and returned to his usual fighting stance, beating the prosecutor and the judge in personal terms, regardless. On Tuesday he was warned to heed his words.
In contrast to the scowl Trump wore all day, his speech was delivered to a roaring crowd, packed with “Front Row Joes” who all flocked to the rally, a group of bikers wearing “Born to Ride Donald J. Trump” fur coats longtime adviser Roger Stone, and some legal advocates, such as Reps. Matthew M. Rosendale (R-Mont.) and Ronny Jackson (R-Tex.). Many other prominent Republicans, such as senators and national groups, were invited, calling for a “memorable and historic evening!”
“It’s weird to see all these people celebrating,” said Caroline Wren, a pro-Trump fundraiser who was accompanied by Kari Lake, the failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate and election denier who took to chanting “Kari Lake!” “Whoever has a baby shower needs to have a prosecution.”
The split cover highlighted the two worlds Trump is focusing on as he makes a third straight presidential bid: one in which he is a defiant political hero and first-vote leader for the 2024 Republican nomination, and the other in which he is growing legal. profane
Hours after Trump pleaded not guilty to felony charges related to 34 payments he made in an attempt to silence an adult-film actress in his 2016 presidential run, his event here Tuesday night was set up like a wedding, with the center revealing that Trump preceded Donald. Trump Jr. and his bride, Kimberly Guilfoyle; daughter Tiffany Trump and her husband; Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and his wife; Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.); and Eric Trump and his wife Lara.
MyPillow CEO and election conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell came in to shout out the theme of “Phantom Works.” Some of the campaign advisers who traveled with Trump to New York walked to David Bowie’s “Rebel of Rebels.”
Trump’s wife Melania, whose ballroom wedding was the inaugural event in 2005, did not appear on Tuesday.
Lake, speaking from the Mar-a-Lago ballroom to the right-wing Network radio station, said Trump’s spirits were lifted by the crowds that came to watch, and he returned his fist to the club, repeating the gesture he had made earlier. while leaving Trump Tower in New York City. Trump traveled with a large coterie of supporters, some of whom tried to urge him to show his tweets, statements and interviews to indict Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
He did not make reporters on the plane, as he stops at the recent campaign, and he did not go to the cameras to do when asking or outside the court. One of his attorneys, Todd Blanche, described him as “absolutely frustrated and upset and believes there is a grave injustice with him in this courtroom today.”
Blanche provided an explanation for Trump’s recent inflammatory comments about Bragg and the judge, Juan M. Merchan. During the prosecution, Merchan said he appreciates the importance of Trump’s freedom of speech, especially while he is running for president, but disagreed that his language was only a sign of frustration. The indictment referenced a social media post by Trump that showed a photo of him holding a baseball next to a photo of Bragg. Merchan asked Trump to “please refrain from making statements that tend to incite violence or civil unrest” or to excuse himself in rhetoric that would endanger the rule of law.
But when he spoke on Tuesday night, Trump didn’t back down from his attacks, calling Merchan “a Trump-hating judge who hates his wife and family.” Trump joined Merchan’s daughter, whom Trump’s grown children shared on social media.
Trump is pushing him into other ongoing investigations, particularly a probe by the district attorney in Fulton County, Ga., into Trump’s push for officials to overturn the 2020 election, and a federal investigation into the handling of classified documents by the former. special counsel Jack Smith. The crowd was upset at the mention of Bragg and New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has a civil suit against Trump’s business. Many of Trump’s claims about the accident have not been scientifically supported. Many of his advisers continue to see the case as New York’s weakest.
“I never thought anything like this could happen in America. I never thought it could,” Trump said in a speech that mostly repeated his standard stock, with many false or inflated claims. “The only crime I have committed is to fearlessly defend my country from those who seek to destroy it.”
In private, advisers say Trump spends a lot of his time meeting and talking with lawyers and thinking about various investigations, especially spying documents. Consultants say that they keep close tabs on who is testifying and asks a lot of questions about it.
His campaign advisers have tried to stay largely out of the right fight, but many people in the campaign have already been subpoenaed, and stories about problems are flying around the convention and the brain. For example, two campaign advisers said a conference call about the arguments ended on Thursday afternoon was interrupted when it was signaled. Trump has more than a dozen lawyers in several states.
Trump continues to talk to Boris Epshteyn as some other advisers want him to, since Epshteyn has received his phone call from federal authorities and is believed by Trump advisers to be under investigation. Epstein was in the courtroom with Trump on Tuesday.
One adviser who has been in frequent contact with Trump, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe his private activities, said he was anxious and angry about the impeachment all weekend, even as others tried to put on a hard face. He played Caledonia, and was feasted on the patio of the club. While other Trump monitors have noted the outpouring of public support, which they say has raised more than $8 million since Thursday and wall-to-wall news coverage for positive attributes, Trump has repeatedly lamented how unfair the process is and that he fears it. trip to New York
On Monday night, Trump met with a team of lawyers at Trump Tower. Chris Kise, one of his agents, described him as “resolute” and “determined”.
“When you say what’s his reaction—what do you think his reaction was? He’s frustrated and upset,” said Blanche. But he said: “We’re going to fight.”
Trump and his team spent much of the morning not knowing what they were up against — while advisers said Monday night they believed there were 34 counts and had not seen the details or the charges until just before going to court, a person with direct knowledge of his legal team said.
After he was escorted from Trump Tower down Fifth Avenue to a Lower Manhattan square, where he was fingerprinted as news helicopters carried his movements on live video footage — he had little to say in public. The man who was waiting for the aid of the president, to relieve all the movements, at one point pushed through his own door.
In the middle of the forum, Trump sat among the lawyers. one showed him some papers. He was looking around in another place. As he stood, he adjusted his synthetic shirt.
His campaign has been milking the prosecution for all the fundraising it can – including sending out a pitch on Tuesday morning as “my last arrest letter”. They were also selling a fake “not guilty” mug shot photo on a t-shirt for $47, even though no mug shot was reported. A simulated mug shot shows Trump’s height in line as six feet five, two inches extra.
Dawsey was reported from London. Jackie Alemany, Dylan Wells and Shayna Jacobs in New York contributed to this report.
