WASHINGTON – Hours after being indicted in a New York courtroom, former President Donald Trump addressed supporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate against New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg and prosecutors investigating him.
“I never thought that something like this could happen in the United States,” Trump told a crowd in Palm Beach, New York, where Trump has been indicted on 34 counts, becoming the first president to face unlawful charges.
Trump’s 27-minute speech was part of his campaign stops in Atlanta and Washington, D.C.
The attack on Bragg and other prosecutors came after a New York judge warned Trump against threats to public officials and rhetoric that could incite violence.
Former President Donald Trump welcomes supporters as he reaches at a press event at Mar-A-Lago on Tuesday, April 4, 2023 in Palm Beach, FL. Former President Trump returned to Mar-A-Lago Tuesday night after his impeachment hearings in New York.
What’s next
Trump is not only the first president to be impeached; He is the first former president to seek re-election while awaiting trial, which means a long wait and multiple lawsuits.
Trump’s next court date in New York is not until December 4. That means the trial won’t begin until January, before the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Trump can consider other cases until then.
The former president is being investigated by prosecutors in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., for undermining the 2020 election, withholding classified documents after his resignation and inciting a January 6, 2021 riot by supporters.
The Mar-a-Lago speech
In a speech at Mar-a-Lago, Trump described the various investigations as attempts to derail his presidential campaign.
Trump has made false allegations about the investigation and claims without evidence that he was chosen for political reasons.
He put a special poison on Bragg, who was responsible for the investigation. Trump slams Bragg’s family, including his wife and daughter. Trump once called Bragg “a failed local district attorney capable of prosecuting the former president.”
Trump also had strong words for Atlanta prosecutor Fannie Willis and Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, who are leading an investigation into the January 6 documents and inquiry.
The speech also covered the usual campaign tropes of President Joe Biden and his administration, from inflation to Russia policy.
Trump supports it
Mar-a-Lago members and Trump supporters often cheered and applauded as the former president attacked prosecutors and political opponents.
Before Trump’s appearance, the public address system played standard campaign rallying cries, from Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Thoughts” to Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless America”.
Among the guests was former White House press secretary Hogan Gidley, who attacked Bragg for his “brutal” prosecution. “What he’s trying to do is tarnish Donald Trump’s name and attack his campaign.”
Bragg said in a written statement that Trump “several times falsified his employment records in New York during the 2016 presidential election in order to hide crimes involving the concealment of damaging information from voters”.
Republicans support it
Trump’s future opponent in 2024 denied the allegations.
Senator Tim Scott, who could announce a presidential bid in the coming weeks, called the New York case a “political stunt” and a “tourist”.
Trump vs. Court?: Donald Trump’s biggest campaign enemy? A series of investigations and possible charges
Can Trump still run?: If impeached, can Trump still run for president? Work cut out? How impeachment can affect 2024
Even anti-Trump Republicans such as US Sen. Mitt Romney, R-ahuta, criticized the country’s indictment, which linked large sums of money to illegal campaign contributions under federal campaign finance laws.
Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, said: “This prosecutor’s action sets a dangerous precedent for criminalizing political opponents and undermining public confidence in our justice system.”
Every day, from his start at Trump Tower in Manhattan to his speech at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Trump and his allies are trying to use lawsuits to raise campaign funds.
In one area, donors offered Trump faux pas t-shirts emblazoned with the words “NOT GUILTY.”
Polls also show that most Americans believe the job is legitimate, suggesting that Trump will have a hard time in the general election, which includes independent and non-partisan voters. An ABC News/Ipsos poll over the weekend found that 50% of Americans blame the impeachment against Trump.
