Donald Trump enjoyed a warm response from his supporters during a fundraising event at Mar-A-Lago over the weekend, according to footage of the gathering and media reports.
Florida state representative Anthony Sabatini, who is running for US Congress, tweeted footage from an apparent fundraising dinner on Saturday showing a large crowd waving at the former president and asking for photographs.
“Great to be with true GOAT tonight!” Mr Sabatini said in a caption alongside the video on Twitter. The lawmaker later tweeted a photo alongside former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
According to reports, Mr Trump made an appearance at a Lincoln Day fundraising dinner at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday night alongside Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Pompeo.
Mr Pompeo reportedly served as the keynote speaker during the event, which was closed to the press, the Sun Sentinel reported.
Reports said a number of high-profile GOP figures also attended the event. The Independent has contacted the office of Mr Trump for comment.
The dinner comes as the race to succeed Mr Trump as the head of the Republican Party begins following the former president’s departure from office.
Mr Pompeo, former Vice President Mike Pence and Mr DeSantis are all showing signs of gearing up to throw their hat in the ring for a 2024 run, the Associated Press has reported.
Many Republicans with national ambitions are openly laying the groundwork for campaigns as Mr Trump continues to mull whether to launch a third bid for the White House.
“It’s a free country. Folks can do what they want”, Mr Trump’s adviser Jason Miller told the AP in response to the moves.
“But if President Trump does decide to run in 2024, the nomination will be his if you’re paying any attention to public polling of Republican voters”, Miller added.
The former president made another appearance at an invitation-only dinner for Republican Party donors earlier this month where he reportedly gave an hour-long expletive-laden rant tearing into his former allies.
During the appearance, he reportedly called Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell a “dumb son of a b****” and expressed his “disappointment” with Mr Pence for lacking the “courage” to block Electoral College votes in a candid hour-long speech.
Hundreds of GOP donors gathered at Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on 10 April for closed-door discussions about the party’s future.
Polling does show that Mr Trump remains a commanding figure among GOP voters, despite his loss in November to Democrat Joe Biden.
