In the weeks since the FBI’s search of his Palm Beach estate, Trump has mostly worked out of his office at Bedminster where he has held meetings with aides and lawyers. He appeared at political fundraisers for Republican congressman Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) and Michigan secretary of state candidate Kristina Karamo — which featured a performance by country singer Coffey Anderson, aka “Mr. Red White and Blue”— hosted a dinner of Republican lawmakers, given a pep talk at his club’s caddie-member golf tournament, played rounds of golf with a rotating circle of friends, and celebrated his defeat of Rep. Liz Cheney in the Wyoming GOP primary with club guests.
He begrudgingly made a trip into New York City for AG Leticia James’ investigation and he memorialized former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe in a video message for a gathering of the Unification Church in South Korea, the church started by Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the Korean religious leader who bankrolled conservative causes in the U.S.. And every day he has dialed up allies and members of Congress, fired off a steady stream of angry posts and shared friendly articles from his social media account on Truth Social, and dined on the patio of Bedminster.
GOP officials, aides and media personalities who have spoken to him say Trump is frustrated but “cheerful.” He has looked for help to bolster his legal team but found no takers. At the same time, he has reveled in seeing parades of MAGA supporters in front of his properties, as well as Fox News pundits and Republican members of Congress largely rushing to his defense. He also has been buoyed by the belief that the FBI’s search of his home will benefit him politically. His political action committee has raised prodigiously off of the matter — dashing off at least 22 fundraising emails with the word “raided” in them since the search happened on Aug. 8.
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