Former Republican President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani revealed Trump's first reaction to the recent federal search of his Mar-a-Lago estate was to boast about the crowd of supporters that gathered outside while the search was underway.
Speaking to Newsmax, Giuliani said Trump said the search was "going to help me."
He added Trump felt the American people "have common sense" and would agree with his perception the authorities had "gone too far now."
You can hear what Giuliani said in the video below.
Giuliani said Trump's reaction to the raid was "remarkable," adding:
"I've represented this man through going through hell. You know, the worst times for him were when they [the authorities] went after Donald Jr., Eric, or Ivanka, and this time, they're going after him."
"He really takes it. You know what he says? 'It's going to help me.'"
"He said, 'Did you see the number of people?' First reaction was, I said, 'Mr. President, I don't even want to talk to you about the case, we've got plenty of time to do that, you know it's bulls***.'" ...
"He says, 'Tell her [Giuliani's partner, Maria Ryan] not to feel bad. You see the number of people in front of Mar-a-Lago already? This is going to turn around."
"The American people have common sense. They've gone too far now."
Trump's preoccupation with crowd size dates has garnered him significant ridicule, perhaps most infamously after he quibbled over the size of the crowd that attended his inauguration in 2017.
Trump, often through embattled former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, openly disputed reports about the size of the crowd that attended his inauguration ever since the National Park Service (NPS) retweeted a post comparing the crowd size at Trump's inauguration to the larger crowd at former President Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration.
A report released in June of that year by the Inspector General for the Department of the Interior concluded that NPS officials did not alter records of crowd sizes at the inauguration ceremony and that all witnesses that were interviewed denied that staff had been instructed "to alter records for the inauguration or to remove crowd size information."
Given these facts, few—if any—were surprised by Trump's reaction.
Giuliani's remarks came the week after Trump's announcement that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided his Mar-a-Lago estate and "even broke into my safe!"
In the days since the raid, sources said Trump was in possession of classified material—including nuclear secrets—that prompted the intelligence community to voice concerns about national security and the possibility classified government secrets could prove a boon to foreign adversaries and even allies.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) says it opposes the release of details from the sworn affidavit describing the basis for the search.
Last week, Giuliani told The New York Post that Trump would retaliate against Democratic President Joe Biden and will "raid every one of Biden's houses" if the former president wins the 2024 presidential election.
There is no evidence that the White House ordered the raid on Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. Last week, the former President's son, Eric Trump, erroneously claimed that the raid "did not happen without Joe Biden's explicit approval."
