The Art of Trumping: Trump Turns a Day in Court Into a Campaign Event Despite a Legal Threat

Even on some of the most important days of his administration, Donald Trump’s four years in office were marked by the spectacle and efforts at showbiz he had honed during his years as a tabloid staple and reality star.

The former president made history on Tuesday when he appeared as a defendant in a criminal case before a federal judge in Florida.

The former commander in chief entered a not guilty plea to 37 counts, including obstruction of justice and negligent handling of some of the nation’s most sensitive secrets. Even though his political aspirations and his freedom are under imminent peril, he still handled the day like a campaign event.

Lessons learned from Trump’s court appearance:

CONSTANTLY CAMPAIGNS

Despite the gravity of the accusations, Trump, ever the showman, tried to exploit whatever political advantages the day may have offered. Numerous Republican fans showed up outside the federal courtroom as the 2024 presidential hopeful sent a few tweets about it being a “WITCH HUNT” and “ONE OF THE SADDEST DAYS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY.”

Following his exit from the courthouse, his motorcade took him to a famous Cuban eatery in Miami. There, he prayed alongside two pastors and a rabbi, shook hands with admirers, and even managed to smile and make jokes while posing for photos, including one with UFC fighter Jorge Masvidal.

A day before his 77th birthday, he initially maintained a very glum countenance when diners in the restaurant started singing “Happy Birthday” to him.

“A certain birthday. He remarked, “Some birthday. “Our government is out of control,” someone said.

Trump prepared a speech from one of his golf clubs following the proceedings, much as he did after his arrest in New York. He talked on Tuesday night from the resort where he is spending the summer in Bedminster, New Jersey.

In a rambling address, Trump scowled and reiterated his accusations that the probe was politically motivated. He also labeled the prosecutor’s office “thugs” and said he was too busy to look through all the boxes of records and mementos he had stored.

A special prosecutor would be appointed to look into President Joe Biden and his family, he said, if he were to be elected president the following year.

The majority of Tuesday’s news was overshadowed by the swirling controversy surrounding Trump. His GOP challengers for the presidency mainly abstained from holding any of their own campaign rallies. Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican rival, tried to take advantage of the scene by appearing outside the courtroom and telling reporters that he was urging other 2024 contenders to promise to pardon Trump if elected president.

Asa Hutchinson, a former governor of Arkansas and a Republican contender for president who has regularly attacked Trump, said in a CNN interview that candidates were not discussing topics but rather Trump and his legal troubles.

It drains a lot of the vitality from the space, he remarked.

SMITH DIRECTING PERSONALLY

The Justice Department’s special counsel, Jack Smith, who has been handling the case in Washington, made an appearance in the Miami courtroom on Tuesday, sitting directly behind the federal prosecutors.

Smith’s attendance in court was noteworthy and highlights the degree to which he has emerged as the public face of the investigation team and its decision-making. It was he, not Attorney General Merrick Garland, who made the indictment public on Friday.

It’s especially noteworthy in light of the fact that Robert Mueller, the previous special counsel to look into Trump, avoided testifying in court in cases filed by his team and never publicly revealed any of the charges his prosecutors brought.

Smith has made two public appearances in less than a week, which suggests that he will certainly play a major role in the historic story of his inquiry.

FLORIDA TO NEW YORK

In contrast to New York, where Trump appeared in state court and entered a not guilty plea to charges relating to hush money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign, the proceedings in Miami federal court received less attention.

In New York, before the arraignment started, reporters were permitted to record and photograph Trump inside the courthouse as well as in the courtroom. Journalists were not permitted to use electronic devices and were not allowed to take pictures or videos of Trump inside the Miami federal court, which delayed the release of news to the public.

While few Trump fans turned up to protest at the former president’s speech in Manhattan in largely Democratic New York, the former president had asked followers to do so in Republican-leaning Florida.

Despite some authorities’ concerns that there may be violence on Tuesday, the area outside the courtroom was mainly peaceful as hundreds of Trump supporters waved flags, sometimes engaging in yelling bouts with smaller groups of anti-Trump protesters.

TRUMP IN DIFFICULT POSITION WITH AIDE

Trump may speak to his co-defendant, valet Walt Nauta, and prospective witnesses about their work but not the case, according to the magistrate judge supervising his court appearance.

Trump, who is not known to hold back or abstain from discussing delicate topics, may have a problem with that because he is charged in the papers case for allegedly disobeying court orders.

Todd Blanche, an attorney for Trump, pointed out that Nauta and possible witnesses are individuals who Trump often meets with, whether at his Florida property Mar-a-Lago or his other clubs.

The fact that Nauta rode in the motorcade to and from the courtroom and stood by the former president during a visit at the Miami restaurant after the court hearing was evidence of the personal assistant’s ongoing allegiance to Trump.

MORE DISEASE IS BREWING

Trump will be preoccupied with other legal issues as the court proceedings in the federal lawsuit involving the secret materials in Florida and the hush money case in New York progress.

A second Justice Department investigation investigating Trump and his supporters’ attempts to rig the 2020 presidential election is still ongoing in Washington under the direction of special counsel Smith. Witnesses testified before a federal grand jury, including Mike Pence, the former vice president of Trump.

Georgia is looking into Trump’s attempts to sabotage his close defeat in the state’s 2020 election. Any charges, according to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, may be brought in August.

Trump will also go on trial in a civil case in New York in October over claims that he and his business deceived banks and tax officials about the worth of their assets.

Trump was also found guilty of defamation and sexual assault in a civil lawsuit on Tuesday, just hours after his court appearance in Florida. The court agreed to amend a similar complaint to incorporate Trump’s more recent public remarks against her after a writer who won a $5 million judgment against him did so. In the updated case, she is demanding damages of almost $10 million against him.