Donald Trump has been spotted in the crowd watching Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira fight in UFC287.
Adesanya knocked out Pereira to regain the middleweight title in a hotly anticipated rematch between two of the best fighters the UFC has seen.
A flush right hand by the NewZealand-based fighter rocked Pereira, and a follow up sent the Brazilian tumbling to the canvas.
The former president, seen sitting alongside Mike Tyson, Kid Rock and UFC boss Dana White, made the surprise appearance after he was formally indicted by a Manhattan grand jury for alleged hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges related to falsifying business records.
He’s long been friends with White and has attended numerous other promotional events, including UFC 244 at Madison Square Garden in New York while still in office.
American UFC fighter Jorge Masvidal visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago earlier this week.
Speaking with White after his loss to Gilbert Burns today, Masvidal praised Trump calling him the “best president in the history of the world” and announced his retirement from the sport.
Trump stepped into a Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday afternoon to plead not guilty to the counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. His usual bravado was replaced with palpable anger and notable silence as the former president was reduced to a criminal defendant in custody.
Former US president Donald Trump at UFC 287 with (L-R) Mike Tyson, Kid Rock and UFC boss Dana White. Photo / via Twitter
By the time he returned to his Mar-a-Lago club hours later, he was ready to unleash.
“The only crime that I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it,” the first former president to be indicted told a crowd of hundreds of loyal supporters.
Trump made an unlikely transformation from reality television star to US president by tapping into the grievance of Republican voters disillusioned with the political establishment. As he wages a comeback bid for the White House, Trump and his campaign hope his indictment will serve as a rallying cry that will galvanize the same voters. Already, he has raised millions of dollars off the news.
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) April 9, 2023
It’s an approach that will test Trump’s “all publicity is good publicity” adage as his decades-long history of bending the world to his will collides with cold legal reality.
Trump, the early frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, now faces the unprecedented prospect of mounting another campaign for the White House while simultaneously on trial for charges stemming from hush money payments to women during his 2016 campaign. He remains under investigation in Georgia and Washington, raising the prospect of multiple trials in several jurisdictions, all unfolding as Republicans begin voting on their next nominee.
In the meantime, Trump’s rivals for the Republican presidential nomination are struggling to emerge from his ever-growing shadow, even as the proceedings raise serious questions about Trump’s viability in a general election.
While most defendants would see an arrest as an indignity to be handled quietly, Trump — a man who has always craved the media spotlight — seized the PR and fundraising opportunity, blasting out his itinerary and narrating a play-by-play on social media.
— The In Your Face Show with Dion Demory Belton✨ (@DeonRichar1) April 9, 2023
“Heading to Lower Manhattan, the Courthouse. Seems so SURREAL — WOW, they are going to ARREST ME. Can’t believe this is happening in America. MAGA!” he wrote on Truth Social as his motorcade headed toward the courthouse, his every movement captured by news helicopters hovering overhead.
His campaign further hyped the appearance in fundraising solicitations. “My last email before my arrest,” one read.
As he was behind closed doors at the courthouse being booked and fingerprinted, his campaign began advertising a “NEW ITEM” to donors: a T-shirt featuring a doctored black-and-white “mugshot” of Trump, complete with an exaggerated height chart and the words “NOT GUILTY.”
In reality, Trump was not subjected to a mugshot on Tuesday — one of several exceptions from normal operating procedure made for the former president — underscoring the contrast between the image he hoped to project and his actual appearance as he faced 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.
After being caught off-guard by the charges, Trump appeared unmistakably livid as he left Trump Tower on Tuesday afternoon and arrived at the lower Manhattan courthouse. He was stone-faced and silent as he entered the courtroom alone, pushing the door open himself.
During the hearing, Trump was subdued. He spent the proceeding mostly listening and spoke just 10 words in total, including “Not guilty”, “Yes”, “Thank you”, and “I do”. At one point, after a discussion about whether one of his lawyers might have a conflict of interest, Trump was told by the judge he had the right to conflict-free representation and was asked if he understood. Trump’s response was so faint that the judge gestured to his ear, signalling he hadn’t heard the answer.
