After he is arraigned in Manhattan on Tuesday, former President Donald Trump plans to deliver a public address that same day.
The remarks are scheduled for 8:15 p.m. EDT at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, his re-election campaign announced on Sunday.
No further details about the substance of Trump’s comments were immediately released.
45th President of the United States Donald J. Trump to Deliver Remarks at Mar-a-Lago pic.twitter.com/rUDGnJqMfC
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) April 2, 2023
Still, the address will follow Trump’s expected trip to New York City, where a grand jury indicted him last week and his arraignment is set for Tuesday afternoon. Trump became the first former president to face criminal charges.
Though the indictment remains under seal, Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina told ABC News on Sunday that he was certain the charges “revolve around” the documentation of hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election cycle.
Trump claims he is the target of a “political persecution” led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, and denies any wrongdoing.
“The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to ‘Get Trump,’ but now they’ve done the unthinkable – indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference,” Trump said in one of his recent statements on the case.
Trump faces other investigations that could result in charges, including a 2020 election investigation in Georgia and a federal inquiry focused on his handling of documents and the events surrounding January 6, 2021, led by special counsel Jack Smith.
Besides Trump, former South Carolina Governor and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have entered the 2024 race for the Republican presidential nomination. Asa Hutchinson, a former Republican governor of Arkansas, announced his campaign on Sunday. He also said Trump should drop out of the race.
“First of all, the office is more important than any individual person,” Hutchinson said on ABC News. “And so for the sake of the office of the presidency, I do think that’s too much of a sideshow and distraction and he needs to be able to concentrate on his due process and there is a presumption of innocence.”
Others who are expected to join the race for the GOP presidential nomination are former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden said he plans to seek re-election but has yet to formally declare a campaign.