Donald Trump went from criminal defendant to wedding crasher within a few hours on Thursday.
After appearing for his arraignment in a Washington DC courthouse, the former president surprised guests at a marriage ceremony at his Bedminster club in New Jersey.
Mr Trump, 77, shook hands with guests and complimented the bride to raucous chants of “USA, USA”.
“I heard so much about this couple,” Mr Trump said, taking a microphone.
“The bride is totally beautiful, and you’re even more beautiful today.”
Mr Trump posed for photos with the bride and groom afterwards with a trademark thumbs up.
Walt Nauta, his aide and co-defendant in the Florida classified documents case, was spotted hovering behind him on the video.
And there he is … Felonious Trump pic.twitter.com/strwETKYzR
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) August 4, 2023
It was a far cry from the tense scenes at the E Barrett Prettyman Courthouse, where Mr Trump pleaded not guilty to four counts related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election on Thursday afternoon.
Mr Trump was made to wait for 25 minutes by US Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya, before appearing to stumble over his name and age.
He was reportedly “irked” by the judge’s insistence on calling him Mr Trump, rather than Mr president, and was in a “sour and dejected” mood afterwards.
Outside court, Mr Trump railed against what he described as the “filth” and “decay” in Washington DC.
Donald Trump crashed a wedding at his Bedminster club hours after his arraignment in Washington DC— (Twitter / Ron Filipkowski)
His motorcade took the short trip back to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport before returning to Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster.
On social media, his supporters hailed the surprise wedding appearance as evidence he was unphased by his third criminal indictment in a little over four months.
“This is Trump’s way of giving a massive ‘F*** you’ to the Washington Uniparty, Biden DOJ and the media that are all trying to imprison him because he knows all these attacks only make him stronger,” political commentator Colin Rugg wrote.
