US President-elect Donald Trump appeared seemingly unfazed by a New York sentencing hearing on Friday as he casually played a round of golf at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, New York Post reports.
In exclusive photos revealed by the Post, Trump, wearing his signature “Trump Was Right About Everything” cap, was seen swerving around the course in a golf cart, just hours after Judge Juan Merchan delivered his sentencing in Manhattan Supreme Court.
The hearing followed Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts, which stemmed from a $130,000 hush-money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.
In a six-minute video statement to the court from Mar-a-Lago, Trump said, “This is a case that should have never been brought. The fact is, I’m totally innocent, I did nothing wrong.” Merchan sentenced the former president to an “unconditional discharge” and wished him godspeed as he prepares to enter his second term in office.
Following the hearing, Trump took to Truth Social, where he continued to dismiss the charges as a politically motivated attack. “The Radical Democrats have lost another pathetic, unAmerican Witch Hunt,” he wrote in a lengthy post.
The charges against Trump stem from his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to undermine the 2016 presidential election. Prosecutors accused him of orchestrating an illegal payment to Daniels, made through his then-lawyer Michael Cohen, and falsely categorising it as legal expenses. While the offence carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison, Trump’s status as a first-time offender meant jail time was unlikely.
Trump, who pleaded not guilty, had previously criticised the case as a politically driven attack by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The sentencing marks the conclusion of a lengthy legal battle, during which Trump’s attempts to have the charges dismissed—citing Supreme Court decisions and claims of prosecutorial bias—were unsuccessful.
Trump was seen at the same golf course where a would-be assassin, armed with an AK-47, had once camped near the 6th hole, aiming to target Trump during a round of golf.