Former President Donald Trump voted for himself in the Florida primary Tuesday in a rare political appearance with former first lady Melania Trump at his side.
Trump stopped and answered questions from reporters after voting in West Palm Beach near his Mar-a-Lago home, sporting a bumper sticker proclaiming his civic accomplishment.
He quickly brushed aside a question about his former vice president, Mike Pence, refusing to support him by citing the events of January 6, days before Trump greeted the January 6 defendants and called them “hostages” during of an election rally.
“I don’t care,” Trump said of his former ruling partner.
Trump voted in Florida primary after already securing his party’s nomination
Former President Donald Trump Trump said he doesn’t care about Mike Pence’s statement that he wouldn’t support his former partner.
He also spoke out on immigration, saying “these people come from bad places – they come from very bad places” and said his company had “a lot of money” as it faced a stunning judgment following his fraud trial in New York.
Melania wore dark sunglasses and a long white dress for the event.
She even made her own brief comment in a rare response to a shouted question, asking if she would join her husband on the campaign trail, after keeping a low profile and attending the occasional event at Mar-a-Lago.
“Stay tuned,” she said.
Their last joint public appearance took place nine days ago, when Trump met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Asked who he voted for, Trump, who has blasted mail-in voting as well as early voting despite calls from party professionals, responded, “I voted for Donald Trump.”
“Did someone just say who you voted for?” he said after a little laugh. “I voted for Donald Trump.”
“ARIZONA, FLORIDA, ILLINOIS, KANSAS AND OHIO, VERY IMPORTANT TO GET OUT AND VOTE – MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump posted Tuesday to a Truth Social feed otherwise dominated by his complaints about his fraud trial in New York as he faced a $454 million court judgment.
‘Stay tuned’: Melania Trump was coy when asked if she would hit the campaign trail with her husband
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump arrive to vote in the Florida primary election in Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday, March 19, 2024.
Trump answered questions about Paul Manafort and Peter Navarro, calling them patriots
Melania Trump stood alongside the former president as he answered questions. She wore black sunglasses.
Trump voted on a day when he repeatedly lambasted the New York judge who ordered him to pay $454 million after his fraud trial.
The Florida primary was a low-key affair for Trump now that he has wrapped up the Republican nomination. President Joe Biden, who also got the nod from Democrats, was at the start of a trip to Nevada and Arizona, where he said Trump had “no basis for understanding” about foreign policy and blasted the press for focusing on campaign polls.
“It’s no surprise that I’m not supporting Donald Trump this year,” Pence, who ended his campaign last year before Iowa, said on Fox News Friday, saying he “can’t, in good conscience, support Donald Trump in this campaign.”
“But that being said, during my presidential campaign, I made clear that there were profound differences between me and President Trump on a range of issues, not just our differences over my constitutional duties that I I exercised on January 6.”
Trump was criticized for his recent comments about Jewish voters in an interview with former adviser Sebastian Gorka.
“Any Jew who votes for Democrats hates their religion, hates everything about Israel and should be ashamed of themselves,” Trump said. “The Democratic Party hates Israel.”
He said Tuesday that “we are doing very well with the Jewish voter.”
The day his former trade negotiator Peter Navarro showed up at a Miami jail after being found guilty of contempt of Congress, Trump called him a “good man.”
“He was treated very unfairly.” He called Navarro “a great patriot – a great negotiator for our country.”
He also praised former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who was imprisoned on tax and corruption charges, and whom Trump pardoned during his final days in office.
There were reports over the weekend Manafort could play a role in his campaign going into the Republican convention in Milwaukee.
“I do not know. But it was another person who was mistreated. But he was a patriot,” Trump said.
Trump also defended his company in the face of a massive judgment and the threat of having its properties seized by state authorities. His lawyers are seeking to have an appeals court impose a suspended sentence, arguing that he cannot obtain bail.
“We have plenty of cash and we have a great business,” he said. “This is a rigged trial led by a crooked judge and a crooked attorney general,” he said. “They would like to take the money away from me so I can’t use it for the campaign,” he said.