WATCH LIVE: Trump delivers remarks after arraignment over handling of classified documents
Trump’s supporters have begun to arrive at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club, where he’s planning to deliver remarks responding to the charges after returning from his arraignment Tuesday night.
The event is scheduled to start at 8:15 p.m. ET. Watch Trump’s remarks in the player above.
Dozens of white wedding chairs have been set up on the club’s stone patio before a stage decorated with American flags and red, white and blue bunting.
Guests as Trump’s Bedminster event include former Department of Justice official Kash Patel, Bernie Kerik and MyPillow conspiracist Mike Lindell.
Lindell says he’s here “to support our real president, Donald Trump.” He called on Ron DeSantis to drop out of the presidential race and endorse Trump tomorrow.
READ FULL: Trump indictment on mishandling of classified documents
Trump gave a wave and a signature thumbs up to crowds outside the federal courthouse in downtown Miami after pleading not guilty to criminal charges. He then headed to a local Cuban restaurant where he warmly greeted waiting supporters in a camera-ready scene that resembled a campaign stop.
In the largely unseen moments on Tuesday — his attorney entering his plea, Trump sitting grim-faced with arms folded across his chest — the gravity of being the first former president charged with a federal crime was apparent.
In the seen moments, broadcast around the world in real time, there was a long motorcade, flag-waving supporters and a smaller number of anti-Trump protesters outside the courthouse.
Then the former president and 2024 candidate had a detour in mind, to a popular Cuban restaurant where he was all smiles, greeted by supporters, prayed over by a rabbi and shadowed by his personal aide, who also has been charged in the case.
Trump has long been adroit at creating his own portrait of events, and the restaurant stop was an effort at counter-programming as he campaigns again for president and maintains that he has been unfairly targeted by political rivals.
The international attention and screaming crowds were another sign of the extraordinary nature of the day’s events and the person at the center of it all. A defendant like no other, Trump was the first former president to appear before a federal judge on criminal charges. He also is leading the Republican field for the 2024 presidential nomination, holding his status as frontrunner even as he has faced other these and other legal troubles.
LIVE UPDATES: Trump’s federal arraignment in Miami
Hardly any of those gathered in Miami interacted with Trump, if they saw him at all through the window of his SUV. He arrived as part of a motorcade that entered the courthouse garage for his hearing on felony charges. The former president also left in the SUV with the windows rolled up before heading to Versailles, a restaurant, coffee shop and bakery that is a required stop for politicians visiting Miami. There, the crowd serenaded him with the “Happy Birthday” song, one day before the former president’s 77th birthday.
“Some birthday! We’ve got a government that’s out of control,” Trump said.
Trump has been making frequent stops at local restaurants during his campaign trips, in part to contrast his easy rapport with his supporters with his chief rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. But Tuesday’s stop was different, aimed at showcasing Trump’s continued support from GOP voters and to signal that he remains unbowed by the indictments.
He then headed to the airport for his flight back to New Jersey aboard his personal jet and was expected to deliver remarks later Tuesday night.
Outside the Miami courthouse earlier in the day, security was tight, with police vehicles blocking a palm tree-lined breezeway and public entrance to the building. A helicopter passed overhead at times, and officers circled the perimeter on bicycles.
The scene included what is now a staple of a Trump appearance or rally. People selling T-shirts with Trump’s face in a mock mugshot, with large letters reading “NOT GUILTY,” others hawking hats, but also, fitting for Miami, mangoes.
Source: PBS NewsHour
