- He kissed his fiancee on stage and said she encouraged him at start of sentence
- He joked about getting a MAGA tattoo while being confined
Former Donald Trump economic advisor Peter Navarro has waited four months for this.
He spoke to the Republican convention hours after his release from federal prison before a cheering crowd – and gave a steamy on-stage smooch to his fiance after tearing into prosecutors that have animated and infuriated his former boss.
'I went to prison so you won’t have to. I am your wake-up call,' said Navarro – picking up an argument also brandished by Trump after he was charged, processed, and faces four criminal trials.
Navarro dropped some personal news to the crowd, revealing that he has a fiancee, Bonnie, who sent him off to words of encouragement when he checked into prison after being convicted of defying a congressional subpoena.
'They weren’t I love you. That was a given. She simply said: "We got this. We got this."' He said Democrats don't understand 'they do this to families.'
He was away for four months before being released from prison Wednesday mornign an flying directly to Milwaukee.
Peter Navarro, former Director of the U.S. Office of Trade & Manufacturing told a convention crowd that 'I went to prison so you won’t have to.'
He gave a passionate kiss to his fiancee on stage, getting more cheers from the crowd that had given him sustained applause when he got introduced.
'This is a beautiful thing. I think you folks just want to know if you can see my MAGA tattoo that I got there,' he joked at the beginning of his remarks.
He also attacked former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, another Trump target. 'The legislative branch came for me first. Your favorite Democrat: Nancy Pelosi. The sham January 6 Committee,' he said, referencing the Demoratic-run panel that posed the attack on the Capitol.
Lawmakers wanted to quiz Navarro on what he termed the 'Green Bay Sweep' – a name have gave based on the Green Bay Packers to have lawmakers delay the electoral count amid legal challenges to the vote.
'This morning I did walk out of a federal prison in Miami. Joe Biden and his department of injustice put me there,' he said, before going after one of Trump's favorite grievances: judges and prosecutors.
That was Navarro's version of a common attack by Trump, blaming Biden personally for charging decisions the Justice Department and local prosecutors say are made by career officials.
'If they can come for me, if they can come for Donald Trump, be careful, they will come for you,' he said. He even taking a dig at New York judge Juan Marchan, who presided over Trump's Stormy Daniels hush money case, which resulted in Trump's conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Navarro gave a smooch to his fiance Bonnie, who he said gave him encouragement when he reported to prison
Navarro got a warm welcome from the crowd
He also mentioned Steve Bannon, who reported to prison in Connecticut after being convicted of similar charges
Four months: 'I think you folks just want to know if you can see my MAGA tattoo that I got there,' Navarro joke about his stint in prison
Navarro took on targets like prosecutors, judges and 'the swamp,' complaining about being convicted by a Washington, D.C. jury
He blasted his own Obama-appointed judge, and asserted that he couldn't get a fair trial in Washington, D.C.
'They threw me to the wolves of an anti-Trump jury in where? The DC swamp,' said Navarro.
Shortly before his speech, Navarro said he is ‘feeling fine’ now that he’s out of prison – and would repeat the conduct that got him sentenced to a four-month prison sentence.
‘Absolutely. It’s not about me. It’s about the Constitution. The doctrine of executive privilege goes back to the days of George Washington,’ he told DailyMail.com at the Republican convention, when asked if he would do it again given what he’s been through.
‘The American people understand, if they can take me, they can take them,’ he said. As for prison, the economist said, ‘The only thing I can say is the weather wasn’t bad. Everything else was prison.’ He was mum when asked for details of his stint. ‘Talk about that next week. I’m feeling fine,’ he said.
