The allegations against Donald Trump are more sensitive than ever, the list of possible offenses is long. But the ex-president is not aware of any guilt, as he made clear in court. For this he celebrates with supporters.
Donald Trump seems emphatically bored and sometimes annoyed when he sits in the dock in Miami on Tuesday. The former US President defiantly crossed his arms in front of the red tie. Leaning back, with slumped shoulders and pursed lips, otherwise hardly an emotion in his face, he lets his lawyer Todd Blanche speak for himself during the almost 50-minute court hearing. He himself never speaks up. Trump acts as if none of this has anything to do with him. As if these unprecedented charges against him for handling secret government documents were an annoying nuisance that needs to be shaken off as quickly as possible, a purely political maneuver with no prospect of success.
“We will definitely plead not guilty,” said Trump’s attorney Blanche in the wood-panelled courtroom of the federal court in the state of Florida. Not even on this crucial question does Trump bother to answer himself.
Trump’s message at his first court appearance in this case is clear: No one can stop the once most powerful man in the world from making a political comeback in the presidential election next year – not even the prosecutor, who, among other things, accuses him of illegally storing highly sensitive information and to have obstructed investigations. At Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, just over an hour’s drive from the courthouse, FBI investigators in a search last August confiscated numerous classified documents from his tenure, some of which were top-secret.
Big media hype, Trump fans in court
After the extensive and explosive indictment became known, Trump will appear in court for the first time on Tuesday, where he will be officially confronted with the allegations. In the early afternoon, four armored, black SUVs with tinted windows thunder straight into the underground parking lot of the gigantic building complex in downtown Miami, which consists mainly of glass and concrete. The Republican presidential candidate, who spent the night at his luxury resort Doral near the airport, is sitting in one of the cars.
Unlike inside the courtroom, there is a lot of excitement around the building: For days, television crews have been standing in front of the court under white plastic pavilions. Reporters line up overnight to grab one of the few coveted seats in the courtroom at the historic event. The media hype is enormous. As Trump’s date approaches, more of his supporters are gathering outside the court. “I stand behind Trump” is on their signs – and “Trump, save America!”. But far fewer than expected appear, and the previously feared riots do not occur.
Trump’s assistant also charged
In the courtroom on the 13th floor, Judge Jonathan Goodman puts Trump through his paces: He instructs the public prosecutor’s office to draw up a list of potential witnesses with whom Trump is no longer allowed to speak directly about his case in the future. Trump’s assistant Walt Nauta must also be on this list. He is also accused in the case and is present in the courtroom, Nauta is sitting two places next to Trump in the dock. In view of the investigation, the ex-president is said to have instructed him to remove boxes of documents – the prosecution sees this as a conspiracy to obstruct justice. Unlike Trump, who pretends to be bored, Nauta appears tense and aware of the seriousness of the situation. On June 27, he has to speak in court about the allegations against him.
After about three quarters of an hour in the courtroom, Trump is obviously impatient. He rubs the outside of one hand against the inside of the other, then folds his hands again. Reporters watching the scene joke that Trump may be hungry and want to celebrate his 77th birthday on Wednesday in peace. And indeed: Shortly after the court date, Trump rushes out of the underground car park with his black motorcade and a little later he and his entourage stop at a Cuban restaurant.
Trump show in the restaurant
In the bar in the Little Havana district of Miami, he is celebrated by supporters, takes photos with fans, shakes hands, thumbs up and smiles for cameras. Someone says a prayer for him. “Food for everyone,” calls Trump into the room. The guests in the restaurant cheer. Then they sing a birthday song for Trump. At his side also here: Walt Nauta. “Keep fighting, sir,” shouts a man in a baseball cap – and gets an extra photo with Trump. The message of the picture-rich stopover: Look here, I’m fine, I can’t be beat. “I think it’s going great,” Trump told reporters there.
Nobody knows what’s really going on inside him. Is his demonstration of lightness only intended to hide the fact that Trump may be afraid of the criminal consequences of his actions for the first time? Or does he actually continue to feel untouchable? In any case, self-doubt is not one of the emotions that Trump likes to show.
Trump then flies to New Jersey from Florida and once again surrounds himself with fans. He has gathered followers at his golf club in Bedminster. In front of them, he presents himself aggressively as usual – and once again stylizes himself as the savior of his followers. “You know they’re not after me. They’re after you and I just happen to be in their way,” Trump said, looking at his accusers. But he will never go away. And he is the only one who can save this nation. He promised that justice would be done in the 2024 election.
In Bedminster, too, the audience, loyal to him, begins to sing his birthday song at some point. Trump briefly scoffs: “Oh, great”, he faces 400 years in prison if the prosecutors have their way. “It’s so beautiful. It’s a wonderful birthday,” he says. But, all Trump, the man of superlatives adds: “We will make it the biggest birthday of all time.”