Trump lawyer Michael van der Veen accused of 'mansplaining tirade' after angry TV interview. Video / CBS News
Donald Trump was given a hero's welcome by his supporters on his way home from the golf course on President's Day, days after being acquitted in his second impeachment trial.
The show of support comes as the former president looks to reassert himself after a period of self-imposed hibernation at his club in Palm Beach, Florida, and is eyeing ways to reassert his power.
Trump reportedly 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!"
Supporters wait for former President Donald Trump to go by in West Palm Beach. Photo / AP
On Monday, Trump was pictured in public for the first time since the decision, waving to fans and giving a thumbs up.
The supporters' event, billed as a "peaceful and patriotic" pro-Trump rally, saw hundreds of maskless people gather outside the Mar-a-Lago Club waving flags and cheering for the former president.
After his acquittal, Trump issued a statement hinting at a political re-emergence, promising that "soon we will emerge with a vision for a bright, radiant, and limitless American future".
"Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun," he said.
The Senate vote means Trump is still eligible to run for another term in 2024, but he has not confirmed whether he intends to do so.
But after being barred from Twitter, the former president lacks the social media bullhorn that fuelled his political rise. And he's confronting a Republican Party deeply divided over the legacy of his jarring final days in office, culminating in the January 6 storming of the Capitol. Searing video images of the day played on loop during his impeachment trial.
Trump remains popular among the GOP base, but many Republicans in Washington have cooled to him. Never before have so many members of a president's party - seven GOP senators, in his case - voted for his removal in a Senate trial.
Trump smiles at supporters as he rides by in West Palm Beach. Photo / AP
Some may work to counter efforts by Trump to support extreme candidates in next year's congressional primaries.
Undeterred, friends and allies expect Trump to resume friendly media interviews after weeks of silence. He has met with political aides to discuss efforts to help Republicans try to take control of the House and Senate in the 2022 midterms elections. He remains fixated on exacting revenge on Republicans who supported his impeachment or resisted his efforts to overturn the results of the November election won by Democrat Joe Biden.
Supporter Tricia Guillemette reacts after seeing former President Donald Trump in his motorcade. Photo / AP
"I imagine you'll probably be hearing a lot more from him in the coming days," senior adviser Jason Miller said after the acquittal.
Senator Lindsey Graham, who spoke with Trump on Saturday night, acknowledged that Trump is "mad at some folks," but also "ready to move on and rebuild the Republican Party" and "excited about 2022."
In their conversations, Graham has stressed to Trump, who has threatened to start his own party to punish disloyal Republicans, that the GOP needs him to win.
"I said, 'Mr President, this MAGA movement needs to continue. We need to unite the party. Trump-plus is the way back in 2022,'" Graham told Fox News Sunday.
"My goal is to win in 2022 to stop the most radical agenda I've seen coming out of the Democratic presidency of Joe Biden. We can't do that without Donald Trump, so he's ready to hit the trail and I'm ready to work with him," Graham said.
Graham said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who voted to acquit but then delivered a scalding denunciation of Trump, "got a load off a chest, obviously". Graham said later in the interview: "If you want to get something off your chest, fine, but I'm into winning."
Supporters cheer for Trump as his motorcade passes them. Photo / AP
At his Palm Beach club on Saturday night, Trump was in a joyous mood as he enjoyed dinner on a patio packed with people. After a mellow past several weeks, one member described a party atmosphere not felt since before the election.
Still, Trump isn't in the clear yet. No longer protected by a Justice Department opinion against the prosecution of sitting presidents, he now faces multiple ongoing criminal investigations.
In Georgia, the Fulton County district attorney has opened a criminal investigation into "attempts to influence" the election, including Trump's call to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger demanding that the official find enough votes to overturn Biden's victory.
Supporters watch as the former president goes past in his motorcade. Photo / AP
In New York, Attorney General Letitia James is investigating whether Trump and his company improperly inflated the value of his assets on annual financial statements in order to secure loans and obtain tax benefits. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr continues his own investigation, which has included grand jury testimony.
"He didn't get away with anything - yet," McConnell said after the vote. "We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation. And former presidents are not immune from being accountable by either one."
McConnell voted to acquit Trump on the grounds the trial was unconstitutional because he is no longer in office, but insisted, "There's no question - none - that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day."
That sharp rebuke from his once-loyal defender underscores how dramatically Trump's stock has fallen in Washington since his first impeachment trial just over a year ago. But the desire to be rid of Trump is not shared across the country, where Republicans who have dared to admonish him have faced swift rebuke.
Representative Liz Cheney was forced to defend her third-in-line leadership position after she voted in favour of impeachment. On Saturday, Louisiana's Republican Party quickly censured Senator Bill Cassidy, one of the seven Republicans senators who voted for Trump's conviction.
In an interview Sunday with ABC's This Week, Cassidy seemed at peace with his decision.
"I think his force wanes," he said of Trump. "The Republican Party is more than just one person. The Republican Party is about ideas."
