Donald Trump cheered by fans outside Mar-a-Lago in first public appearance since impeachment trial acquittal

Pro Trump Rally Held Near Trump's Mar-a-Lago Estate On Presidents' Day
Donald Trump was driven past supporters as he returned to Mar-a-Lago on Presidents’ Day
Getty Images
Michael Howie16 February 2021

Donald Trump has been pictured in public for the first time since his impeachment trial as he waved to fans who lined his route from the golf course on the Presidents’ Day holiday.

The former president gave a thumbs up as hundreds of supporters held an impromptu rally on Monday outside his Mar-a-Lago Club in West Palm Beach, Florida

The event, dubbed a “peaceful and patriotic rally”, was reportedly organised to celebrate the holiday as well as Mr Trump’s acquittal on Saturday. 

Video showed a large crowd of supporters along a stretch of the road a few miles from his retreat, with many wearing Trump hats and T-shirts and carrying American flags.

Mr Trump celebrated the Senate vote - which saw seven Republicans side with Democrats, ten short of the number needed to find him guilty of inciting January’s deadly riot at the US Capitol in Washington - with a statement saying the “beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun”.

Pro Trump Rally Held Near Trump's Mar-a-Lago Estate On Presidents' Day
Trump supporters gather along Southern Boulevard near his Mar-a-Lago home
Getty Images

Mr Trump took in the win at Mar-a-Lago, surrounded by friends and family. His lawyers celebrated with hugs and smiles. One joked, “We’re going to Disney World!”Now acquitted in his second Senate impeachment trial, Mr Trump is preparing for the next phase of his post-presidency life.

Feeling emboldened by the trial’s outcome, he is expected to re-emerge from a self-imposed hibernation in Palm Beach and is eyeing ways to reassert his power.

But while he remains popular with the Republican base, many party figures in Washington have cooled on him.

Never before have so many members of the president’s party voted for his removal in a Senate trial. 

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