Aides for Donald Trump pushed back on accusations Friday that the former president offered to buy food for people at a Miami restaurant on Tuesday but left before paying for anything.
A spokesperson for Trump told the Washington Examiner that the former president had offered to buy food for his supporters inside the Versailles Bakery on Tuesday, but the supporters had followed him outside the restaurant without ordering food by the time he left.
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“President Trump was very enthused and very appreciative to the family at Versailles Restaurant for welcoming him this week,” the spokesperson said. “At the end of President Trump’s visit he offered to buy food for the group of attendees inside the restaurant, but when President Trump left, the attendees followed him outside and did not place orders themselves.”
The spokesperson added that campaign staffers had paid in advance for “to-go” orders and did not leave any tab of theirs unpaid.
The clarification comes after unnamed sources told the Miami New Times that the former president’s visit to the Cuban restaurant amounted to a 10-minute photo-op where no food was ordered for Trump or his fans despite his exclamation of “food for everyone!”
The crowd at the bakery also sang “happy birthday” to the former commander in chief, who turned 77 on Wednesday.
Trump stopped at the Miami hot spot immediately following his arraignment at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Trump was indicted on 37 counts that stem from an FBI raid at his Mar-a-Lago resort last summer. The raid was related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents.
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The former president is facing charges that include 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information, which violates the Espionage Act. He also faces one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, one count of withholding a document or record, and one count of corruptly concealing a document or record, among other charges.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
