Donald Trump supporters descended on Miami Mayor Francis Suarez as the Republican arrived at a federal courthouse ahead of the former president's arraignment on Tuesday.
Trump, who was indicted last Thursday, is facing 37 counts, ranging from willful retention of classified documents to obstruction charges, in connection with the Department of Justice's (DOJ) investigation into his handling of classified documents after leaving office. He is the first president to face federal charges.
The indictment, which was brought by DOJ special counsel Jack Smith, accuses the former president of mishandling sensitive presidential records and obstructing government efforts to retrieve them. Trump has maintained his innocence, accusing federal prosecutors of investigating him for political reasons.
Big-name Republicans such as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have spoken out against the indictment, and Trump continues to dominate the polls as the favorite among GOP contenders for the presidential nomination, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis behind him.
Most of Trump's GOP opponents in the 2024 race aren't using the indictment to attack their nomination rival. Instead, presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and other Republicans, including Suarez, say the DOJ's investigation wasn't conducted fairly.
However, when Suarez arrived at the courthouse Tuesday afternoon, he had to fight his way through a thick crowd of Trump supporters.
"We've got a swamp monster, folks," a person is heard yelling during a video that was tweeted by The Recount.
“We’ve got a swamp monster, folks!”
— The Recount (@therecount) June 13, 2023
— Miami Mayor Francis Suarez (R) is berated by Trump supporters as he arrives outside the courthouse where Trump is set to be arraigned. pic.twitter.com/aTqVBTEPiI
Calls of "swamp monster" followed the mayor as he moved through the crowd, with members yelling at him as he did so. The insult stems from a line often heard in Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. He promised to "drain the swamp," meaning he would rid Washington, D.C., of political insiders and corruption and make the federal government honest.
Since his failed 2020 campaign and Smith's investigations of the handling of classified documents and Trump's actions leading up to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, Trump has accused the federal government of conducting a "witch hunt" against him. Some of his supporters with the same outlook may see Suarez—who is reportedly gearing up for a likely presidential campaign announcement this week—as one of the politicians in the metaphorical swamp.
But given that Suarez has called Trump's federal indictment "un-American," it's not clear why MAGA Republicans would speak harshly against the Miami mayor, other than the fact that he may be challenging Trump in the upcoming GOP primaries.
Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Suarez said, "This is just—just feels un-American. It feels wrong at some level, and I think people are very frustrated that they don't see the equal application of justice, that they don't see the same fervor, the same intensity of investigations and prosecutions, on the other side of the aisle."
Newsweek reached out to Suarez's office by email for comment.
