Donald Trump calls on his supporters to demonstrate before his possible indictment

Supporters of the ex-president in Manhattan, March 20, 2023. © REUTERS - ANDREW KELLY

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

All eyes are on the Manhattan prosecutor waiting for a possible indictment of Donald Trump on Tuesday, March 21, for a case of payment - before his victory in November 2016 - to an actress of pornographic films with whom he would have had an affair. His calls for demonstrations were met with little effect.

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On Saturday, the former president, who denounces a "witch hunt", called on his supporters to demonstrate. On Monday, some of them heard his call and gathered in New York to support him. Gathered under the windows of the Manhattan prosecutor, they were ultimately fewer than feared, reports our correspondent in New York, Loubna Anaki. A handful of members of the New York Republican Youth Club. A limited number by choice, insists Gavin Wax, organizer of the rally. "We decided not to hold a big demonstration to make sure we were not overwhelmed or that there would be slippages and that we would be blamed afterwards," he said.

For him, as for many Trumpists, the imminence of an indictment against the former president in the Stormy Daniels case is a witch hunt. "It's political," he says. And I think if he is charged, it will be a pivotal moment in our country's history that will hurt us as a free society.

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I think they are afraid that Donald Trump will win, defend another supporter of the ex-president. The Democrats are pressuring him for purely political reasons. These Republicans assure that they will continue to defend Donald Trump.

The former president's call for protests had prompted New York authorities to tighten security to avoid any scenario similar to the January 6 riots. An unlikely scenario according to some New Yorkers. "This is New York, the police will not tolerate any violent protests. It won't be the Capitol! The authorities, in any case, are closely monitoring online Trumpist forums and groups where calls for violence are multiplying.

Knives drawn with Ron DeSantis

The Republican billionaire also called on his supporters to protest on Tuesday in this case Stormy Daniels. Appointment has been set in front of his Florida residence, at Mar-a-Lago. But even in his stronghold, his supporters say they are increasingly tired of Donald Trump, according to our correspondent in Miami, David Thomson.

A Donald Trump supporter at Mar-a-Lago, March 20, 2023. AP - Lynne Sladky

Donald Trump behaves like a child, he is embarrassing, says Chris, 39, who voted for him in the last two presidential elections. But this time, it's too much. A former president who risks being arrested for paying money to a former X star like Stormy Daniels to buy his silence before the 2016 election, that's really too messy for Chris. This DJ from Fort Lauderdale, near Miami, believes that it is time to turn the page Trump to hand over to Ron DeSantis, the ultra-conservative, governor of Florida of 44 years that he would see better as a Republican presidential candidate. "One thing I like about Ron DeSantis is that he doesn't have any scandals related to a former X star with whom he would have thrown himself in the air. And that's important for a president. And I think we're going to realize that more and more people are tired of Donald Trump's problems being the country's problems," he said.

And this possible indictment only strengthens his rivalry with Ron DeSantis. Donald Trump blames the governor of Florida for his lack of support in this case. He says it doesn't concern him.

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