President Donald Trump was apparently interested in bringing one of the more problematic figures from his first administration into his new one.
On Tuesday night, Trump made an appearance at his private Florida beach club, Mar-a-Lago, which played host to a gala for America’s Future, a right wing organization chaired by retired Gen. Michael Flynn. TPM reviewed portions of Trump’s remarks, during which the President declared he was eager to see Flynn, who had a short and scandalous stint as White House national security adviser in 2017, make a return to government.
“Let me tell you, this guy, he’s the real deal,” Trump said with a beaming Flynn at his side. “He’s a real general and I told him — I offered him about ten jobs.”
Flynn was forced to resign from his post in the first Trump administration amid revelations he lied to former Vice President Mike Pence and others about his communications with the Kremlin’s ambassador to the U.S. He subsequently pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contact with the Russian diplomat, kicking off a unique legal saga that culminated in a pardon from Trump.
Since then, Flynn has become a prominent right wing activist involved in multiple organizations and business ventures that blend extremist politics with entrepreneurialism. He was also a prominent proponent of Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. In his remarks at Mar-a-Lago, Trump suggested Flynn’s current endeavors are too prosperous for him to justify taking any of the President’s job offers.
“I think he’s doing so well he doesn’t need them, but I offered,” Trump explained. “I said, any time you want to come in, you know that Mike, OK?”
The White House and Flynn did not respond to requests for comment.
America’s Future was founded in 1946. Past chairs of the group include retired Brigadier Gen. Robert E. Wood, who was a key figure in the World War II era America First Committee, which was known for rampant anti-Semitism and fascist sympathies. According to the group’s website, America’s Future is “committed to preserving the Judeo-Christian values that make America exceptional.” Tuesday night’s gala was billed as a celebration of “American Exceptionalism.” According to the Palm Beach Post, the party touted a lineup of stars who are no stranger to right wing politics and controversy; actors Russell Brand and Mel Gibson were part of the event. Based on photos from the gala, comedienne turned pro-Trump rapper Roseanne Barr was also in attendance.
Along with Flynn, Trump was flanked by boxer Mike Tyson and musician Ted Nugent during his speech. The president — after baselessly echoing his past claims that the election he won was stacked against him — boasted about his performance since returning to office last month.
“We’ve just had an election. Fortunately, it was too big to rig. They tried and it didn’t work out too good for them,” Trump said, adding, “We’re going to do a job. … They say — this isn’t me — they say it was the best three weeks so far of any president ever.”
Trump went on to tout his “DOGE” efforts that have focused on cutting thousands of federal jobs, freezing congressionally allocated funding, and eliminating programs and language focused on diversity. The lawless efforts have raised substantial questions about data security and potential impacts to essential government services. In his comments, Trump framed it all as a major culture war victory.
“We wiped out a lot of crap, a lot of stuff, a lot of fake stuff,” Trump said. “You know what that was right? We took care of woke. I think you’re not going to see too much wokeness.”
During the speech, Trump also suggested his ideological rivals were completely defeated within his first few weeks.
“We have a little problem with the radical left, but the radical left — I think we’ve taken care of them pretty good,” Trump said.
Along with touting his domestic agenda, Trump suggested his one-sided negotiations with Russia to end that country’s war in Ukraine were yielding positive results.
“We had a very good meeting with Russia today to stop that ridiculous war killing everybody,” Trump said. “It’s ridiculous and we’ve got to stop it.”
As Trump discussed one of the most crucial global conflicts, he was flanked by Flynn and two of the gala’s headliners: musician Ted Nugent and boxer Mike Tyson. Trump described them as “fantastic” and called the event “very, very friendly territory.”
“We’ve got a lot of beauties here,” Trump said.
