Former President Donald Trump ramped up his attacks on Democrats on Saturday at a private luncheon hosted at his Mar-a-Lago club, during which he referred to Democrats as “running a Gestapo administration” — equating President Joe Biden’s administration to Nazi Germany, according to three attendees.
The remarks were part of a larger tirade, during which the former president accused the Biden administration of being behind the four criminal indictments he is facing.
The fundraiser served as the main attraction during the RNC’s annual retreat in Palm Beach. Hundreds of people attended the event, and several attendees gave $40,000 or more, sources familiar with the fundraiser told CNN.
Trump cursed repeatedly throughout his speech, the attendees said, including while leveling criticism at special counsel Jack Smith and other prosecutors who have charged him with criminal indictments.
The comments were part of a roughly 90-minute speech where he touted his recent fundraising numbers and lavished praise on his vice-presidential contenders, claiming that many people were “begging” to serve as his running mate, two of the attendees said.
Trump walked onto the stage on Saturday to the recording of a January 6 anthem featuring several people convicted for their roles in the 2021 attack on the Capitol — a song his campaign frequently features at his campaign rallies.
At one point during the event, Trump’s daughter-in-law and Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump, presented the former president with a Billboard Music award for the song, titled “Justice for All,” which topped Billboard’s digital sales last year.
At another point, Trump called on those gathered at his resort and offered them the opportunity to speak at the podium for $1 million, the three attendees said. Two donors ultimately came to the stage, with one using the podium to claim God chose Trump to lead the country, they said.
Trump also touted efforts to prevent cheating in the upcoming election by RNC chairman Michael Whatley, the attendees told CNN. During the remarks, Trump stated he would need an attorney general with “courage” while simultaneously mocking his former attorney general, William Barr, according to the New York Times. Barr, who has been a fierce critic of Trump since leaving his administration, recently endorsed the former president.
Trump also spent several minutes praising former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was impeached and removed from office in 2009 on corruption charges, the attendees said. Trump commuted Blagojevich’s prison sentence in 2020. Blagojevich told CNN he considers himself a “Trumpocrat,” which he described as a Democrat who supports Trump.
Later Saturday, Trump hosted a birthday party at Mar-a-Lago for Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson, who served as one of Trump’s presidential physicians while in office, multiple attendees said. The former president used the event, which also served as a fundraising opportunity, to deliver remarks on his campaign against Biden.
