Former President Donald Trump was initially “upbeat” about the FBI raid on his Mar-a-Lago residence, but his mood darkened at times as GOP support began to wane, according to a report. Sources told The Washington Post that Trump believed the FBI raid would benefit him, as it appeared the Justice Department had overreached. “It feels like a political coup for him,” a friend who had spoken with the former president several times told The Post, speaking on condition of anonymity. Trump believed the raid would rally Republicans around him, the report says, and build more support for a possible 2024 presidential bid. While Republicans initially spoke out strongly against the raid, their public support became more muted when records unsealed Friday revealed that the FBI had seized 11 sets of classified documents from Mar-a-Lago. The Washington Post reported that the bureau sought classified documents related to nuclear weapons. Reports suggest Republicans are now scrambling to respond to the revelations, and some Trump allies are beginning to drift away. Some Republicans acknowledged that it would be a concern if Trump retained information about nuclear weapons. On Friday, the Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative House Republicans, canceled on short notice a news conference about the Mar-a-Lago raid, according to CBS reporter Scott MacFarlane. Since that shift in support, Trump’s flamboyant mood has at times turned dark, The Post reported, according to people close to him. Still, many of Trump’s staunchest allies, like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, have strongly backed him. Trump supporters across the US continued to support him, with users of his Truth Social platform calling for civil war and supporting violence against the FBI, NBC reported. On Saturday, armed supporters of former President Donald Trump demonstrated outside the FBI office in Phoenix, Arizona, Fox 10 Phoenix reported. The Justice Department raided Trump’s Florida residence to investigate whether he violated three laws, including the Espionage Act, by taking government records. Trump’s defense of the records found at Mar-a-Lago has continued to change. He falsely claimed that evidence existed, falsely accused former President Barack Obama of doing the same, and claimed that the documents he obtained were automatically declassified. Loading Something is loading.
