Donald Trump team turns post-arraignment Versailles visit into campaign ad

When Donald Trump met supporters at Versailles Restaurant after his arraignment, one anchor griped he was trying to turn the scene into a campaign ad. Now, it has actually become one.

Trump’s arraignment in federal court sparked a spectacle from supporters and protesters outside the federal courthouse in Miami. Now, the Mar-a-Lago Republican’s campaign has released a video on Rumble that splices together footage of supporters in Miami with voiceovers of pundits supporting Trump.

The video also uses a speech from a fundraiser Trump held in Bedminster, New Jersey, the same night of his appearance in federal court.

“Never before have the two standards of justice in our country been more starkly revealed,” Trump said, “but they will fail and we will win bigger and better than ever before.”

Of note, the absence of cameras in the courthouse means there was no video coverage of the actual arraignment in Miami. That meant coverage and b-roll on TV and video platforms primarily centered around demonstrations outside, as well as Trump mingling with supporters.

Much of the footage in the ad comes from a visit Trump made to Versailles, a frequent political stop in Little Havana. Footage of Trump meeting a hero’s welcome there prompted CNN host Jake Tapper to call live for his control room to stop airing it.

“He’s trying to turn it into a spectacle, into a campaign ad,” Tapper said, asking for the network to cut away.

Now Trump has done just that.

Trump wove that footage into images of him rallying supporters both in Miami and in New Jersey. The ad continues messaging that Trump was being unfairly targeted by President Joe Biden’s administration and Justice Department.

“When you arrest your leading political opponent, we no longer have a democracy,” Trump said.

“They want to take away my freedom because I will never let them take away your freedom. They’re not coming after me, they are coming after you, and I just happen to be standing in their way and I will never be moving.”

The video also includes a comment from a pundit saying Biden should be arrested, though the video does not specify what warrants charges. The blurb comes from comments radio host Bill Spadea made to Newsmax.

“The only indictment that should be coming down is against President Biden for whatever he was doing as Vice President,” he said.