Former President Donald Trump addressed a crowd chanting his name at Cipriani’s flagship location on New York’s Wall Street Saturday afternoon, rallying loyalists and warning President Biden that impeaching the former commander-in-chief would be a two-way street should he return to the White House.
“He has opened a Pandora’s box that will never let our country be the same. I can only say to Joe: Be careful what you wish for, but what you’ve done is a terrible thing,” Trump thundered to the roughly 1,000 gathered guests, who dined on wild mushroom risotto and filet mignon.
The grand event was sponsored by the Young Republicans Club of New York.
“I was charged because of you. This is not a claim in the traditional sense. This is Biden’s claim against their political opponents,” said the 77-year-old 2024 front-runner.
Former President Trump speaks at the New York Young Republican Club Gala at Cipriani Wall Street on Dec. 9, 2023, in New York City. Getty Images The lavish event was sponsored by the Young Republicans Club of New York. Reuters
Trump faces 91 criminal charges from four separate state and federal investigations — something he has repeatedly boasted about.
“I was the first guy ever indicted whose poll numbers went up,” he joked, comparing himself to notorious gangster Al Capone.
Trump vowed to win the GOP primary and the White House in the 2024 presidential election — and said he would win the deep blue Empire State.
Representative Matt Gaetz, left, speaks before President Trump takes the stage. Former President Donald Trump attends the 111th Annual NY Young Republicans Gala at Cipriani Wall Street. Aristide Economopoulos Rep. Lauren Boebert walked through the VIP section before dinner started at the gala on Saturday night. Aristide Economopoulos
“We’re going to take New York,” Trump said to applause. “I believe we have a great opportunity … With hundreds of thousands of people living on sidewalks and streets and illegal immigrants invading our cities and our state like no one expected.”
Trump also engaged with his political foes, mocking Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as “DeSanctimonious,” and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley as “bird brain.” He misrepresented New York Attorney General Letitia James as “peekaboo James” and a “brutal lunatic.”
Trump spoke after a long evening that also featured speeches from Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).
Trump vowed to win the GOP primary and the White House in the 2024 presidential election — and said he would win the deep blue Empire State. Getty Images Scene at the Young Republicans Club of New York’s 111th annual gala in New York on Dec. 9, 2023. AFP via Getty Images
About 30 minutes before speaking, Trump enjoyed dinner at a roped-off table and was seen in deep conversation with Young Republicans Club of New York President Gavin Wax. He was also briefly treated to a personal serenade from Hungarian violinist Zoltan Maga.
Master of Ceremonies Alex Stein downplayed Trump’s legal troubles by joking that he hoped the former president was jailed because it would help with the “black vote.”
Among those spotted in the VIP cocktail hour before the ceremony included Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Col.) and Andrew Giuliani. Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon even bought his own table for the event – where individual tickets cost about $700 a head.
Walt Nauta (L), President Trump’s co-defendant in the classified records case, attends a gala with Trump lawyer Alina Habba on Saturday during the 111th Annual Republican Youth Gala at Cipriani Wall Street. Aristide Economopoulos People protest outside Cipriani on Wall Street before the start of the gala. Aristide Economopoulos
New York City GOP Councilmembers Vickie Paladino and Inna Vernikov also attended. Vernikov himself was honored by Trump on stage – who with his approval noted that he kept reading about him in the press.
“That’s why I want to meet him,” Trump said after exchanging kisses on both cheeks.
“Well, that wasn’t planned,” Vernikov texted The Post from his desk.
Former New England Patriots Defensive End Jake Bequette was also in attendance, carrying a Super Bowl ring that allowed his admirers to take pictures. Vish Burra, a top aide to former Rep. George Santos — who was fired from Congress last week after a series of corruption allegations — was also spotted mocking and defending his former boss, who has been affectionately dubbed “our generation’s Princess Diana. ”
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani sits across the table from his former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik.
As in previous years, this event has international talent. Miklos Szantho, head of the right-wing Hungarian Center for Human Rights, and Hungarian Ambassador to the US Laszlo Szabo both gave brief speeches from the main stage.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
