WASHINGTON — For the second time in two-and-a-half months, former President Donald Trump followed his arrest-and-arraignment with a rally-like speech to supporters in which he viciously attacked his prosecutions as political.
“They will fail and we will win bigger and better than ever before,” Trump told a supportive crowd at his Bedminster, N.J., golf club on Tuesday. The speech came just hours after his attorney pleaded not guilty to a 37-count indictment alleging obstruction of justice and classified documents.
Appealing to the court of voter opinion on his second indictment this year, Trump made clear that he will make the charges a central park of his 2024 campaign, claiming without evidence that Democrats are targeting him via the legal system.
As he did during an April event after an arraignment on a state indictment in New York, Trump on Tuesday attacked the lead prosecutor, in this case special counsel Jack Smith.
In a grievance-filled speech, Trump gave a distorted analysis of the case against him. He also argued that other presidents took classified documents after their terms in the White House, but he left out the fact that they were never accused of obstruction of justice by defying a subpoena for their return.
Arraignment live updates: Trump leaves courthouse after pleading not guilty to all federal charges
Parallels to Mar-a-Lago event
Trump conducted a similar event on April 4 at his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida, hours after an arraignment in New York City. On that occasion, he attacked Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for bringing a case involving an alleged hush money scheme.
Trump’s frequent attacks on Bragg drew an admonishment from Judge Juan Merchan who ordered the ex-president to “refrain from making statements that are likely to incite violence and civil unrest.”
In his lengthy attack on Smith, Trump repeated claims he has made for weeks that the prosecutor is biased against him. Trump has also attacked Smith frequently on social media in recent weeks.
‘Felony violations of our national security laws’
Smith, precluded by ethics rules, has not responded to Trump’s attacks. His only public comment on the case came Friday as the Justice Department unsealed the indictment “charging Donald J. Trump with felony violations of our national security laws as well as participating in a conspiracy to obstruct justice.”
Hours before Trump’s speech in New Jersey, Smith sat in a courtroom in Miami and watched as Trump’s lawyer entered not guilty pleas to the charges. Trump is basically accused of improperly removing classified information from the White House, and then obstructing justice when he refused to give back documents that had been subpoenaed.
In praising the FBI for its investigation, Smith said Friday “this indictment was voted by a grand jury of citizens in the Southern District of Florida, and I invite everyone to read it in full to understand the scope and the gravity of the crimes charged.”
A rising number of Trump’s Republican opponents in the 2024 presidential election are critical of his actions.
Former Vice President Mike Pence told The Wall Street Journal editorial board that Trump is entitled to his day in court, but “these are very serious allegations. And I can’t defend what is alleged.”
Campaign events
The speech was only way in which Trump sought to turn his arraignment into a campaign event.
After his hearing at the federal courthouse in Miami, Trump traveled to a nearby landmark Cuban restaurant and soaked up applause from a crowd of supporters. Supporters at the restaurant and the Bedminster golf club serenaded Trump with a rendition of “Happy Birthday;” Trump turns 77 years old on Wednesday.
In addition to his rally-like follow-up speech, Trump plans to host a fundraiser Tuesday night at Bedminster, an event that was planned before Trump knew he would be indicted.
Moving forward
While he has signaled he plans to make the indictments a major part of his campaign, Trump does not have any events scheduled in the next several days.
Trump is scheduled to speak at a convention of anti-abortion activists to be held in Philadelphia the weekend of June 29-July 2.
