He reserved special venom for Bragg, who led the investigation. Trump attacked Bragg’s family, including his wife and daughter. At one point, Trump called Bragg “a local failed district attorney” who at one point had qualms about bringing a case against a former president.
Trump also had harsh words for Atlanta prosecutor Fani Willis and Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is heading up the documents and Jan. 6 investigations.
The speech also featured standard campaign hits on President Joe Biden and his administration, from inflation to Russia policy.
Mar-a-Lago members and Trump supporters frequently cheered and clapped as the ex-president attacked prosecutors and political opponents.
Before Trump’s appearance, the public address system played the standard campaign rally soundtrack, from Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds” to Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless The USA.”
Guests included Trump employees like former White House spokesman Hogan Gidley, who attacked Bragg for a “flimsy” case. “What he’s seeking to do is to tarnish Donald Trump’s name and also attack his campaign.”
In a written statement, Bragg said Trump “repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal crimes that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election.”
Republicans are supportive
Trump’s prospective opponents in 2024 have condemned the indictment.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who may announce a presidential bid in the coming weeks, called the New York case a “political charade” and “a travesty.”
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Even Republicans who have opposed Trump, such as U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, criticized the state indictment that links hush money to illegal campaign contributions under federal campaign finance laws.
“The prosecutor’s overreach sets a dangerous precedent for criminalizing political opponents and damages the public’s faith in our justice system,” said Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee for president.
Throughout the day, from his start at Trump Tower in Manhattan to his speech at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Trump and allies tried to use the arraignment to raise campaign money.
One pitch offered donors t-shirts emblazoned with a Trump faux mug shot stamped with the words “NOT GUILTY.”
Polls also show that many Americans believe the case is legitimate, suggesting that Trump would have a rocky road in a general election that includes independent and non-party voters. An ABC News/Ipsos poll over the weekend said 50% of Americans think the charges against Trump “are serious.”
Bradley P. Moss, an attorney who specializes in national security matters, said the New York case “will without question provide a short-term boost to Mr. Trump in the polls for the Republican nomination.”
But primaries don’t begin until early next year, and Trump could face other indictments.
“The weight of these criminal matters is likely to cause significant headwinds for the former president as actual primary voters start going to the polls,” Moss said.
‘Professional defendant’?
Republicans across the country are waiting to see if this is a blip, or if Trump can sustain a wave of resentment. Some said the prospect of a lengthy trial – or trials, if he is indicted in other cases – will gradually sap the political strength from Trump and the Republican Party.
Jack Pitney, a former Republican and a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College, said Trump’s “hard core” Republican supporters “will keep digging in.”
Others may look to get out.
“His deepening legal woes won’t help with anybody else,” Pitney said. “’Professional Defendant’ is not a job title that appeals to the general public.”
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