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Conservative pundit and commentator Ann Coulter, a longtime supporter of Donald Trump, criticized the former president ahead of his court appearance Tuesday.
Trump is set to appear in court in Miami at 3 p.m. ET, when he is expected to be arraigned on 37 counts ranging from willful retention of classified documents to obstruction charges in connection to the Department of Justice's (DOJ) investigation into whether he mishandled classified documents after leaving office in 2021. Federal prosecutors are accusing him of mishandling sensitive presidential records and obstructing the government's attempts to retrieve them. Trump has maintained that he did nothing wrong, accusing prosecutors of investigating him for political purposes.
His former ally, Coulter, ridiculed him Tuesday morning, just hours before the arraignment.
"And he couldn't even built [sic] a wall," Coulter tweeted in response to a post noting that the national debt increased 40 percent during his administration.
Coulter at one point was a vocal champion of the former president, praising his stance on immigration and penning the book In Trump We Trust. However, in recent years she has become more critical of him, urging the Republican Party to embrace alternative conservative candidates in the 2024 presidential race.
In February, she slammed Trump as "profoundly stupid" during an interview on the podcast Timcast IRL.
"The one thing I didn't know when I wrote In Trump We Trust is how profoundly stupid he is. I made very clear in the book the only thing he could do; we will forgive him for anything, and I defended him the day after the Access Hollywood *****grabbing tape came out," she said. "...I was pedal-to-the-metal defending him. I said we'll forgive him for anything unless you betray us on immigration. Guess what? He did."
Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign via email for comment.
Trump Arraignment in Classified Documents Case: What to Know
Trump is facing 37 charges, including 31 counts of willful retention of classified documents and one count each of conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document or record, concealing a document in a federal investigation, scheme to conceal, and false statements and representations.
Cameras are banned in federal courtrooms, meaning the arraignment won't be watchable for Americans.
Trump has argued that federal prosecutors are targeting him for political reasons and that he previously declassified the documents before leaving the Oval Office in January 2021.
However, critics, including some of the Republicans challenging him for the 2024 presidential nomination, have raised concerns about several allegations made against him in the indictment, including that he allegedly admitted to holding onto a classified document related to national security issues.
The arraignment comes just months after Trump was indicted in a separate case in Manhattan involving a hush money payment allegedly made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump is also facing several investigations into his conduct surrounding the 2020 presidential election results, though he has maintained his innocence in each of these cases, as well.
About the writer
Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more