- Former President Donald Trump made an impromptu appearance at a dog fundraiser on Friday.
- Wearing a “MAGA” hat, Trump gave a brief speech that referred to Lara Trump’s possible run to the Senate.
- Trump has made few public appearances or speeches since leaving office in January.
- See more stories on the Insider business page.
Former President Donald Trump delivered a brief speech on Friday during a seemingly improvised appearance at a dog rescue at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, the local news agency WPTV reported.
The fundraiser was led by Lauree Simmons, the president and founder of Big Dog Ranch Rescue, who told WPTV that she did the fundraiser in hopes of raising $ 500,000 to use a plane to extract dogs from dog meat farms. in China.
“[What you’re] doing is so important and so good, and so important and I’m 100% with you, and you’ve had a lot of meetings at the White House and Oval Office related to saving and helping dogs, ”Trump said on Friday.
HuffPost reported on the same day of the event that, in the past seven years, Big Dog Ranch Rescue spent $ 1.9 million on Trump properties and estimated it would spend $ 225,000 on Mar-a-Lago this weekend.
Lara Trump, wife of Trump’s son Eric Trump, has been listed as president of the organization’s charity events from 2018, according to the report. Simmons in 2019 visited the White House when Trump signed a bill focused on cruelty to animals, according to HuffPost.
While on stage, Trump mentioned rumors that his daughter-in-law was planning a run for the Senate.
“I want to thank Lara, who’s been so amazing. I don’t know, you’re running for the Senate,” he said in a video recorded on Friday and posted to Twitter, using his signature “Make America Great Again” in red hat. “I heard that she is going to run for the Senate.”
—TA Walker (@timallanwalker) March 12, 2021
Lara Trump is considering a Senate run in North Carolina to replace Richard Burr, a retired Republican who voted in January to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial, an action that led to his censorship by the Republican Party of North Carolina .
Trump has made few public appearances since leaving office in January, plagued by a scandal after his month-long refusal to concede his defeat to President Joe Biden and inciting the January 6 riot at the United States Capitol, which left five people dead.
The Senate failed to convict Trump in February after his impeachment by the House in January. Trump is the only president who has been impeached twice.
In February, Trump spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in his first speech since leaving the White House. During his speech, Trump made several false or misleading claims and suggested running for president in 2024.