
Trump trades the courtroom for RNC retreat in Florida
CNN
Former President Donald Trump is trading the New York courtroom for Florida banquet halls this weekend, where he’ll mingle with his vice presidential contenders and wealthy donors during the Republican National Committee’s spring retreat.
Former President Donald Trump is trading the New York courtroom for Florida banquet halls this weekend, where he’ll mingle with his vice presidential contenders and wealthy donors during the Republican National Committee’s spring retreat. The former president will be the main attraction at a fundraiser luncheon hosted at his Mar-a-Lago club on Saturday, where Trump will court his deep-pocketed supporters as he attempts to catch up to the Biden campaign’s ever-growing war chest. Top GOP donors and high-profile party leaders first gathered at the Four Seasons on Friday, for a welcome reception with Trump’s daughter-in-law and RNC co-chair Lara Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson and House GOP conference chair Elise Stefanik, according to sources familiar with the weekend itinerary. While the annual weekend retreat typically serves as a meeting place for the GOP elite, this year’s special guests include a series of Republicans on Trump’s VP shortlist, including Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds and Stefanik. Other notable guests include Florida Sen. Rick Scott, Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Indiana Rep. Jim Banks, Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt, Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dave McCormick and Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem — who has spent the last week attempting to do damage control regarding a recently published excerpt from her upcoming book, in which she detailed how she shot and killed her dog, Cricket — will also attend.

Over the past 10 days, Vice President JD Vance put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on notice, rattled the confidence of century-old allies in Western Europe during his first foreign trip, decamped to Capitol Hill to help in delicate budget talks and delivered a spirited defense of the Trump administration’s first month to a gathering of conservatives outside the nation’s capital.