President Trump invited the two soldiers he pardoned to be his special guests at a closed-door fundraiser in Florida on Saturday.
Trump pardoned Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance and Maj. Mathew Golsteyn for their involvement in separate war crimes along with Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, whose controversial pardon resulted in the firing of Navy Secretary Richard Spencer.
Lorance and Golsteyn joined the president on Saturday evening during the fundraiser, which racked up $3.5 million for the Florida Republican Party. The massive event featured 1,000 guests who were all required to turn in their phones ahead of Trump’s address. No press were allowed into the Statesman’s Dinner, which was held at the JW Marriott Turnberry Resort and Spa in Aventura.
Guests of the event told the Miami Harold that Trump’s speech was “hilarious” and that the president was in “rare form” following another week of impeachment in Washington. One guest claimed Trump became a “total comedian” while delivering the speech outside the public eye.
It was not announced ahead of time that Lorance and Golsteyn would be the president’s guests. Lorance had been pardoned by Trump before serving out his 19-year sentence for ordering his troops to fire on unarmed men in Afghanistan. Golsteyn was expected to stand trial for his killing of a Taliban bomb maker in 2010, but he was cleared by Trump before a ruling was delivered.
Beyond Golsteyn and Lorance, Trump was joined by Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and other Florida Republicans.
He spent the majority of his speech hyping the Florida Republican Party ahead of the 2020 election. The state will play a key role in delivering a reelection for Trump.
