Donald Trump took time out of his campaign schedule to hand out pizzas to his supporters and even signed the top of an enthusiastic fan.
He made the first of five planned visits to Iowa on Wednesday and spoke to crowds in Maquoketa and Dubuque as he seeks to win the title. Republican Party nomination for the 2024 presidential election.
But the former president, 77, was later spotted handing out pizza to delighted fans at Kathy’s Treehouse Pub & Eatery in Bettendorf.
Trump was filmed handing out boxes to people, signing autographs and engaging with the crowd who chanted, “We want Trump.”
This comes as he dismisses claims he told an aide she should deny any knowledge of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
Donald Trump took time out of his campaign schedule to hand out pizzas to his supporters and even signed the top of an enthusiastic fan.
The former president, 77, was spotted handing out pizza to delighted fans at Kathy’s Treehouse Pub & Eatery in Bettendorf.
A video was shared on X of Trump lending a hand to the staff at Kathy’s Treehouse Pub & Eatery where more than a hundred people were gathered.
He was seen picking up pizza boxes and giving them to members of the excited crowd. “Take it man,” the former president is heard telling a fan.
Meanwhile, another man is heard shouting, “Who wants Trump’s pizza?” ”, before the packed audience started screaming.
Trump then hands a woman a box and says, “Here you go, honey.” »
The crowd began chanting “We want Trump” as the former president signed an autograph for a fan.
He was even spotted signing the top of an enthusiastic waitress before tattooing her forearm and her sticking her tongue out at him in joy.
He was heard saying: “We are very honored to have you here, thank you very much. We love you. My dad is your number one fan and we all are.
Trump then turned to the crowd and began orchestrating cheers while giving high fives and handshakes.
They shouted his name and sang Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.”
This is not the first time Trump has visited a restaurant and addressed his supporters.
He stopped at a local pizzeria in April after giving a lengthy speech in Fort Myers, in which he asked his fans if they wanted to enjoy the slice he had already bitten into.
Trump visited Downtown House of Pizza and its owners said they were “truly honored.”
The former president also went straight to the iconic Cuban restaurant Versailles after his appearance in Miami federal court in June.
He offered to buy food for everyone and listened as customers sang “Happy Birthday.”
“Food for everyone!” » Trump shouted in the famous restaurant during the surprise stop after pleading not guilty to 37 federal charges related to his mishandling of classified documents.
Earlier Wednesday, he spoke to a crowd of more than 1,000 people in the small town of Maquoketa as part of his campaign.
“In less than four months, we will win the Iowa caucuses in a historic landslide,” Trump predicted.
He urged those in attendance to support him during the Jan. 15 caucuses and asked them to bring friends.
His team’s promised commitment to organizing better in Iowa than in 2016, when Trump finished just behind Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, was on display.
Supporters from across northeast Iowa had lined up outside the fairgrounds building at the Jackson County Fairgrounds hours before Trump’s arrival.
Trump brought up his 2016 defeat at the start of his speech, blaming his previous campaign team.
“They didn’t do the job of the caucus very well and I learned a lot,” Trump acknowledged, adding: “But I don’t like being second.”
At a second event in Dubuque, Trump addressed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whom he has long treated as his main target, touting his administration’s efforts to help Iowa farmers and crack down on illegal immigration.
Trump recited a poem he sometimes reads about a woman who invites a sick, frozen snake into her home, only to get bitten.
“This is what is happening in our country,” he said.
His campaign in Iowa followed claims that he asked an aide to deny any knowledge of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
Molly Michael began working for Trump at the White House in 2018 and remained his aide after he left.
She resigned last year over his alleged refusal to return documents he took from the White House and has since testified before the January 6 Committee.
Tuesday, ABC News reported that she told investigators looking into Trump’s handling of classified documents that he tried to silence her.
After Trump learned the FBI wanted to interview Michael last year, sources told ABC, Trump allegedly told him, “You don’t know anything about the boxes.”
Michael became increasingly concerned about Trump’s response to repeated requests from the National Archives office for the return of classified documents he had taken, the sources said.
She felt there were many people around Mar-a-Lago who could “easily” refute her public statements that all the documents had been returned.
Michael even told Trump that many people, including maintenance workers, had seen the boxes at Mar-a-Lago and knew there were many more than the 15 he claimed.
And she told investigators, according to ABC sources, that Trump knew full well there were classified documents in the boxes, because he knew their contents and had been shown a photo of a warehouse containing some 90 boxes.
The indictment against Trump for mishandling classified documents and refusing to return them alleges that Trump asked one of his lawyers at the time: “Wouldn’t it be better if we just told them we have nothing here?
Molly Michael testified about note cards before the House Jan. 6 committee.
Michael, left, is seen on May 1, 2020, with Johnny McEntee, the former director of the Office of Presidential Personnel.
Stacks of boxes of classified documents are photographed at Mar-a-Lago
Documents were stored in bathrooms – with so many boxes they were even stacked in the bathroom
In June of last year, Trump’s lawyer Evan Corcoran oversaw a search for classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and turned over 38 of them to the FBI, signing a statement confirming that the subpoena for the documents had been fully respected.
But officials didn’t believe Trump had been honest with them and launched an unannounced search of the property in August, finding 102 more papers.
Michael told investigators there were even more.
She said she returned to work after the raid – she was not in her office at the time – and found her desk a mess. She noticed that the to-do lists Trump had prepared for her were still there, buried under papers.
To-do lists were scrawled on the backs of documents with classified markings, she said.
Michael has not commented on the ABC report.
Steven Cheung, a Trump spokesman, said ABC’s report came from “illegal leaks” of the investigation and lacked “proper context.”
Cheung said the Justice Ministry must urgently investigate the leaks.
“These illegal leaks come from sources that completely lack context and relevant information,” he said.
“The Department of Justice should investigate criminal leaks, instead of engaging in a baseless witch hunt.”