Trump hauls in $2m after indictment dining with $100k donors
Donald Trump raised more than $2 million from donors who attended a ‘candlelight dinner’ with him at Bedminster Tuesday night – after his day in federal court and defiant speech delivered outside the clubhouse.
CNBC reported Wednesday that supporters who donated or raised more than $100,000 toward his 2024 White House bid were invited to the intimate affair.
They were fed Trump favorites including burgers and crab cakes, and were served wine and cocktails.
The initial invitation had teased special Congressional guests, but only Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville made it to New Jersey, as there were ongoing votes Tuesday night.
Tuberville stayed for the donor dinner. ‘I was invited a couple weeks ago, this had been planned,’ he told DailyMail.com Wednesday about the scheduling.
Trump raised more than $2 million from donors who attended a ‘candlelight dinner’ with him at Bedminster Tuesday night
The former president spoke to a crowd of several hundred outside the clubhouse at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf resort
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican, was on hand for Trump’s speech at Bedminster and stayed after for the intimate ‘candlelight dinner,’ in which only donors who forked over $100,000 or more could attend
Prior to the more exclusive dinner, a crowd of several hundred gathered in front of the clubhouse at Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey, golf resort to hear him deliver blistering remarks about the Mar-a-Lago documents case.
That event attracted some Trumpworld favorites including My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, Sebastian Gorka, Andrew Giuliani and Bernie Kerik.
Eric Trump attended the event, as did Kimberly Guilfoyle, the fiancee of Donald Trump Jr.
Aides who had traveled with the president to Miami, including Boris Epshteyn and Margo Martin, were also on hand for the speech.
Walt Nauta, who is also facing federal charges over the Mar-a-Lago documents case, returned to New Jersey with the president, Trump’s spokesman said, but DailyMail.com did not spot him in the audience for the speech.
One large group in the audience was Vietmanese Americans for America First, who were easy to spot as all the women were sporting the same red MAGA dress.
Trump told the audience that the prosecution was ‘the most evil and heinous abuse of power in the history of our country.’
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (left) stands alongside Eric Trump (center) and Kimberly Guilfoyle (right), the fiancee of Donald Trump Jr.
Some Trumpworld favorites assembled at Bedminster Tuesday night including My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell (left) and Sebastian Gorka (right), who briefly worked at the Trump White House
Several hundred Trump supporters came out to see him speak, before a handful of people were invited to dinner with the ex-president as part of a $2 million fundraiser
Former NYPD commissioner Bernie Kerik chats with guests Tuesday night ahead of Trump’s speech at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf resort
Andrew Giuliani, who worked in the Trump administration and is the son of former New York City Mayor and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, was on hand Tuesday night in Bedminster
‘I did everything right and they indicted me,’ he complained.
The former president suggested that other political figures had gotten away with much worse.
‘He lost the nuclear codes,’ Trump claimed of Bill Clinton, who he called a ‘nice guy.’
‘They should have used him a little bit more as an adviser in the 2016 election,’ Trump also joked, alluding to how he beat Clinton’s wife Hillary in the presidential election that year.
Trump also charged that George W. Bush’s White House ‘lost 22 million emails.’
‘A document shredding truck was spotted on the way to Dick Cheney’s house. Can you imagine?’ the former president added.
He spoke at length about the Bill Clinton ‘socks’ case, which fact-checkers have already said isn’t a valid comparison to what Trump is accused of doing.
When Trump paused to take a swig out of a bottle of water a member of the crowd shouted ‘Happy Birthday!’ at him.
He turned 77 Wednesday.
‘Nice birthday isn’t it?’ the ex-president commented.
Trump grinned as a crowd of supporters then sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to him.
‘Nice birthday. Wonderful birthday,’ he said.
‘I was with Eric and Lara and the kids – “Happy Birthday grandpa!” – I said oh great, I just got charged with, they want 400 years approximately, if you add them all up. A fake 400 years. So thank you darling, that’s so nice. It’s a wonderful birthday,’ the former president continued. ‘We’re going to make it into the greatest birthday of all.’