Donald Trump Arrives In New York City For Campaign Fundraiser, Met By Chants Of ‘Lock Him Up’
Donald Trump didn’t receive much of a hometown welcome upon his return to New York City this weekend, as crowds of angry protesters were ready to meet the president’s motorcade with chants of “Lock him up!” following the conviction of Michael Flynn.
The embattled Trump is afraid of the Russia investigation closing in around him, sources close to the White House said on Friday after Flynn pleaded guilty to a charge of lying to the FBI about his contact with the Russian ambassador late last year. Flynn’s relatively lenient sentence led many experts to believe he is now cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller to take on a bigger target — which could be Donald Trump.
Trump couldn’t escape the controversy when he left Washington, D.C., on Saturday to attend a swanky fundraiser. As The Hill noted, crowds were there to greet Trump by chanting “Lock him up!” and calling him a “traitor” to his country. The “Lock him up!” chant appeared to be a reference to Michael Flynn’s controversial speech at the Republican National Convention last year in which he declared that Hillary Clinton should be in jail and led the crowd in a chant of “Lock her up!”
Some of the protests can be seen in the video below.
Michael Flynn was met with similar “Lock him up!” chants after leaving a courtroom on Friday, where he pleaded guilty to the charge of lying to the FBI. Flynn is the first member of Trump’s administration to face charges related to the Russia investigation, though former campaign manager Paul Manafort has also been charged with money laundering.
Trump also got himself into some trouble online on Saturday, tweeting that he decided to fire Flynn after the National Security Adviser lied to Vice President Mike Pence and to the FBI. But legal experts noted that if Trump knew Flynn lied to the FBI, then the president committed obstruction of justice when he reportedly asked then-FBI Director James Comey to let the issue go, The Hill reported.
Trump was reportedly told to stay off of Twitter after Mike Flynn's plea deal was revealed | via PoliticsInsiderhttps://t.co/BG1eZXfdkd
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The appearance at the New York fundraiser comes just hours after what is the first major legislative victory of Trump’s term, a Republican tax overhaul passed in the early morning hours on Saturday mostly along party lines. Opponents have criticized the bill for offering huge cuts to the wealthiest Americans while stripping a number of tax protections from the middle class. But it was one of the major pieces of legislation pushed by Trump and the first one he has gotten to pass despite having Republican majorities in both Congress and the Senate.
