e was the centre of attention, but not the master of ceremonies, almost entirely silent beyond uttering “not guilty” in court and blasting out all-caps posts on his social media site.
But as soon as the former US president returned home, to his namesake ballroom filled with adoring fans, he was a rock star again, and he snapped back to his usual combative posture, lashing out at the prosecutor and judge, despite the latter’s admonition on Tuesday to watch his words.
In contrast to the scowl Mr Trump wore all day, his seething speech was delivered to an ebullient crowd, packed with the “Front Row Joes” who frequent every rally, a group of bikers wearing “Born to Ride for Donald J Trump” leather vests, long-time adviser Roger Stone, and a handful of loyal lawmakers, such as Republican members of the US House of Representatives Matthew M. Rosendale and Ronny Jackson. Many other prominent Republicans, such as senators and national committee members, passed on the invitation, billed as a “memorable and historic evening!”
“It’s weird to see all these people celebrating,” said Caroline Wren, a pro-Trump fundraiser who attended with Kari Lake, the failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate and election denier who received chants of “Kari Won!” “Who has a baby shower, we need to have an arraignment party.”
The split-screen highlighted the two worlds Mr Trump is spanning as he makes a third straight bid for the presidency: one in which he is a defiant political hero and early
polling leader for the 2024 Republican nomination, and another in which he is in increasing legal peril.
Hours after Mr Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts related to payments intended to silence an adult-film actress during his 2016 presidential run, his event here Tuesday night was set up like a wedding, with a centre aisle down which Mr Trump was preceded by Donald Trump Jr and his fiancee, Kimberly Guilfoyle; daughter Tiffany Trump and her husband; Representative Matt Gaetz and his wife; Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene; and Eric Trump and wife Lara.
MyPillow CEO and election conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell entered to cheers during the theme from Phantom of the Opera. Some campaign advisers who’d travelled with Mr Trump to New York walked in to David Bowie’s Rebel Rebel.
Mr Trump’s wife, Melania, whose wedding was the ballroom’s inaugural event in 2005, did not appear.
Lake, speaking from the Mar-a-Lago ballroom to the Right Side Broadcasting Network, said Donald Trump’s spirits were lifted by the crowds who came out to see him, and he raised his fist upon returning to the club, repeating the gesture he made earlier while leaving Trump Tower for court in New York.
“I never thought anything like this could happen in America. Never thought it could happen,” Mr Trump told the hand-picked crowd in a speech that mostly repeated his standard stump material, with many false or exaggerated claims.
“The only crime that I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it.”
In private, advisers say, Mr Trump spends much of his time meeting and talking with lawyers and worrying about various investigations, particularly the documents probe. Advisers say he keeps close tabs on who is testifying and asks a lot of questions about it.
One adviser who has been in frequent touch with Mr Trump, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he was brooding and angry about the indictment throughout the weekend, even as he tried to put on a steely face for others, played golf and dined on the patio of his club.
While other Trump advisers have noticed the outpouring of political support, the more than $8m they say they raised and the wall-to-wall news coverage as positive attributes,
His campaign has milked the indictment for all the fundraising it can – even sending out a pitch on Tuesday morning that it touted as “the last email before my arrest.”
