He then headed to the airport for his flight back to New Jersey. But Tuesday’s stop was different, aimed at showcasing Trump’s continued support from GOP voters and signaling that he remains unbowed by the indictments. 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 Republican rival, Florida Gov. “Some birthday! We’ve got a government that’s out of control,” Trump said. There, the crowd serenaded him with the “Happy Birthday” song, one day before the former president’s 77th birthday. 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. He arrived as part of a motorcade that entered the courthouse garage for his hearing on felony charges. Hardly any of those gathered in Miami interacted with Trump, if they saw him at all through the window of his SUV. He also is leading the Republican field for the 2024 presidential nomination, holding his status as frontrunner even as he has faced these and other legal troubles. A defendant like no other, Trump was the first former president to appear before a federal judge on criminal charges. The international attention and the screaming crowds were more signs of the extraordinary nature of the day’s events and the person at the center of it all. Then the former president and 2024 candidate had a detour in mind, to a popular 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. In the seen moments, broadcast around the world in real time, there were a long motorcade, flag-waving supporters and a smaller number of anti-Trump protesters outside the courthouse.
In the largely unseen moments 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.
He then headed to a Cuban restaurant where he warmly greeted waiting supporters in a camera-ready scene that resembled a campaign stop, and later he railed against the charges before a friendly crowd of invited guests at a private golf club he owns. MIAMI (AP) - Former President Donald Trump gave a wave and a thumbs-up to crowds outside the federal courthouse in downtown Miami after pleading not guilty to criminal charges.
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