While visiting Little Havana, Trump plays for sympathy and votes.
Former President Donald J. Trump visited Miami’s Little Havana on Tuesday immediately after his arraignment, his latest attempt to cast himself as a man persecuted by his political enemies.
It was an unsubtle attempt to solicit the sympathy of Latinos, in Florida and beyond.
Trump’s visit to Versailles Restaurant, a symbol of the Cuban diaspora, came as Republicans increasingly likened his indictment to corruption and political repression in Latin American countries.
Outside the federal courthouse where the arraignment was taking place in Miami, Alina Habba, a lawyer and spokeswoman for Mr. Trump, suggested he was no different than political dissidents from Latin America.
“Attacking and persecuting a prominent political opponent is something you see in dictatorships like Cuba and Venezuela,” she said. “It is common there for rival candidates to be prosecuted, prosecuted and jailed.”
The day before his arraignment, Trump said he believed Hispanics in South Florida were sympathetic to him because they are familiar with governments targeting rivals.
“They really see it better than other people,” he said in an interview with Americano Media, a conservative Spanish-language media outlet based in South Florida.
Mr. Trump has enjoyed relatively strong support in some Latino communities, especially those in South Florida. Eduardo A. Gamarra, a professor of politics and international relations at Florida International University who is also part of the Cuban Research Institute, said the narrative woven by Mr. Trump and his surrogates, while false, was clever.
“It’s reinforced by local media, by a lot of what the Trump campaign and other Republicans are saying that this administration, the Biden administration, is behaving the way the banana republics are behaving, so that resonates very intensely here,” he said . “It’s great politics, but it’s not true.”
A native of Bolivia, Mr. Gamarra noted that Mr. Trump had also tried to gain support from Latino voters by ranting against socialism and communism. He lamented the way Mr. Trump and his allies had repeatedly mentioned Latin America.
“It’s a very unfortunate story,” he said. “I think it just propagates the stereotypes about Latin America. It is much more complex than just the image of the banana republic.”
Mr. Trump’s cameo at the restaurant was the last for him and a long line of politicians, including former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. In 2016 the restaurant received mr. Trump and Rudolph W. Giuliani together after Mr. Trump’s first debate against Hillary Clinton.
Paloma Marcos, a native of Nicaragua and a US citizen for 15 years, rushed to Versailles wearing a Trump hat and a sign that read, “I support Trump.”
She said many Nicaraguans like her had an affinity for the former president because he opposes communism. She added that people like her, as well as Cubans and Venezuelans, saw that form of government destroy their homeland.
“He knows we support him. The Latino community has woken up,” Ms. Marcos said. “The curtain has pulled back.”
Reverend Yoelis Sánchez, a pastor at a local church and a native of the Dominican Republic, said she did not hesitate when asked to go to the Versailles Restaurant to pray with Mr. Trump. Several religious people, including evangelicals and Catholics, prayed with him while her daughter sang.
“We prayed to God to give him strength and for the truth to come out,” she said. “We are really concerned for his well-being.”
Ms. Sánchez, who lives in Doral, Florida, which is part of Miami-Dade County and where Mr. Trump owns a golf resort, was not yet a citizen in 2020. She declined to say whether she intends to vote for him. in 2024.
“I don’t think he came here just because of the Latino vibe,” she said. “He came because he wanted to meet people who think biblically — he’s pro-life and pro-family and Latinos identify with that.”
Mr. Trump faces criminal charges in connection with mishandling classified documents and then obstructing the administration’s efforts to retrieve them. The federal charges against a former president are unprecedented in the United States, but many Latin American presidents have been prosecuted after leaving office.
The current president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, spent more than a year in prison after leaving office the first time. Former Argentina president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was sentenced last year to six years for corruption. In Peru, Alejandro Toledo was recently extradited for bribery. The former leader, Alberto Fujimori, is serving 25 years in prison.
Arnoldo Alemán of Nicaragua is one of the few former presidents to be arrested in a corruption case despite his own party being in power.
“You see this a lot in Latin America, especially in Peru and now in El Salvador,” said Mario García, a Versailles regular who was tickled when he saw Mr. Trump visit the restaurant. “But in those countries they do it for a good reason: because the presidents get caught robbing money.” Mr García said he believed the administration was targeting Mr Trump “because they have no other way to get to him”.
Mr García said he did not think Mr Trump came to Versailles to try the Latino vote. “The votes here at Versailles are the ones he already has,” he said. “He needs support. It’s nice to surround yourself with love when everyone is attacking you.”
Maggie Haberman And Nick Madigan reporting contributed.