It’s sunny in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump said that President Joe Biden’s government was like Nazi Germany’s secret police at a private, closed-door donor retreat on Saturday afternoon.
The former president made these comments while he was talking about his legal problems. He was criticizing the judges in the cases and lamenting the recent arrests in Arizona of 11 “fake” electors from the 2020 election and several of his top aides.
Trump said, “These people are running a Gestapo administration,” according to NBC News’s recording of the luncheon. “That’s all they have.” Some people think that’s the only way they can win.
“When I was charged, I told everyone to take off their gloves,” Trump said, calling Biden “the worst president in the history of our country.” He is completely useless. He’s really weird. He is the Manchurian candidate and takes huge amounts of money from China, Russia, Ukraine, and many other places. “He is a crook.”
The ex-president also said that his legal problems don’t worry him too much.
“You can choke if you care too much.” I don’t really care either. “You know, life is life,” he said.
He did say, though, that he was shocked when he was charged.
When I was charged, I said, “Holy s—.” I was just charged. Me. “They charged me,” Trump said.
He also said that Jack Smith, who is the special counsel in two federal cases against Trump, was a “evil thug” and “deranged.”
When asked for a response, the Biden campaign did not respond right away.
Trump spoke at his club Mar-a-Lago on Saturday afternoon, while the Republican National Committee’s spring meeting was going on nearby. Hundreds of donors were there.
The former president hasn’t had much time to campaign because he has to spend four days a week in a Manhattan courtroom for his criminal trial. The trial is connected to payments he made to an adult film star to keep quiet about things that happened during the 2016 election.
A lot of possible vice presidential candidates are at the retreat this weekend, such as Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, and Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota.
A story from NBC News says that Trump has not yet moved past the early stages of choosing a running mate. Top candidates have not yet been sent full questionnaires or other requests for information that would help make a shortlist.
All of these guests, except Noem, who left early, were on stage at the luncheon with Trump. Trump also brought a number of other elected leaders, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
One Republican who went to the dinner told NBC News, “By the end of it, there were a lot of people on stage.”
According to the audio recording, Trump praised Stefanik for her work in questioning former Harvard University President Claudine Gay. Gay resigned after being questioned about her testimony at a congressional hearing on campus antisemitism and after being accused of plagiarizing her own work.
Trump said, “You burned her up.” Everyone who saw her did so well that they said she should run for vice president.
The former president said that Vance “turned out to be incredible.” Vance was a well-known Trump critic in 2016 while pushing his book “Hillbilly Elegy.” This month, the senator is going to Ohio to hold a dinner with Trump.
“You know he wasn’t on my side,” Trump told Vance. “He kept saying things like, ‘That guy is a disaster!'”
Trump said Scott “did a good job,” even though his bid for the GOP presidential nomination ended before the Iowa votes. “What an amazing surrogate He is,” she said.
“Do you know what he told me?” He said, “Talking about myself has never made me feel good.” That’s nice in some ways. I never mind when people talk about me. I’m not like that.”
Trump also thanked Rubio and Donalds, two possible vice presidential candidates from Florida, where he lives himself. The Constitution says that voters can’t choose a president and vice president from the same state.
Trump said that Rubio is “a talented guy” and that he is “absolutely” being thought about, “but we do have a little problem.” I have to be honest with you—including that guy there, Byron—it’s just a small glitch in Florida with these guys.
People loved Burgum’s wealth; he used to be a successful software entrepreneur and was the first well-known Trump opponent to back him.
Trump said, “He’s very wealthy; he’s made a lot of money.” “I always thought, ‘Wow, that guy is really skilled.'”
Trump also praised Noem, who unfortunately did not make it to the stage. He called the South Dakota governor, who is under fire after saying in a new book that she killed a family dog, “somebody that I love.”
“She’s been with me and a supporter, and I’ve been a supporter of hers for a long time,” Trump said.
Trump also said that anyone who gave $1 million right then and there could come up on stage. There were two people who took him up on his offer. One woman said, “Donald J. Trump is the person that God has chosen.”
