(Headline USA) Donald 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, Trump is preparing for the next phase of his post-presidency life.
Feeling emboldened by the trial’s outcome, he is expected to reemerge from a self-imposed hibernation at his club in Palm Beach, Florida, and is eyeing ways to reassert his power.
But after being barred from Twitter, the former president lacks the social media platform that fueled his political rise.
Trump remains popular among the GOP base, but many Republicans in Washington have openly demonstrated their hatred for the political outsider, which they masked during his presidency.
Some may work to counter efforts by Trump to support patriotic 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 determined to unseat Republicans who supported his impeachment or allowed the Democrats to steal the 2020 presidential election.
“I imagine you’ll probably be hearing a lot more from him in the coming days,” senior adviser Jason Miller said.
In a statement after the vote, Trump offered few clues, but was defiant as he told supporters their movement “has only just begun.”
“In the months ahead I have much to share with you, and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all of our people,” he said.
Sen. 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, R-S.C., 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 vote 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.”
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 last 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.
In New York, Attorney General Letitia James is investigating baseless allegations that 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, R-Ky., 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 on.”
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.”
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press.
