Disgraced ex-Congressman Mark Foley was spotted sitting behind Donald Trump at a Florida rally Wednesday as the Republican presidential nominee again criticized Hillary Clinton’s campaign for allowing the father of Orlando shooter Omar Mateen to attend her rally.
Reporters noticed that sitting behind Trump at the event in Fort Lauderdale was former U.S. Representative Mark Foley, who resigned from Congress in 2006 after allegations surfaced that he had sent suggestive emails and sexually explicit instant messages to teenage boys who had been congressional pages.
Foley told the paper he got the seat by arriving at the rally early early. “A lot of you people know me, right?”
“I made a mistake and I paid dearly for it”, Foley said.
Foley is seen just over Trump’s left shoulder in video from the rally in Sunshine, Florida, almost the same position that Seddique Mir Mateen had taken at Clinton’s rally in Kissimmee, Florida, earlier this week.
He drew harsh criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike because some took his remarks on Tuesday to mean he was inciting violence despite Trump’s insistence he was only urging more people to rally votes against Clinton.
At one point during the event, Trump brought up the Clinton campaign’s misstep at letting Mateen into their rally and pointed to those behind him, saying: “The people behind me”.
Survivors of the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando attended the Clinton rally that Mateen attended. “They’re going to be famous”.
Shortly after the rally, Foley told the Sun Sentinel he was there and praised Trump’s performance and ideas. Trump’s campaign didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry about Foley’s appearance.
After the event, Foley acknowledged that he was supporting Trump for president, telling MSNBC that Trump has “been a friend of mine for 30 years and one of my biggest contributors”.
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Campaign spokesman Nick Merrill later issued a statement adding that the candidate “disagrees with his views and “. As Trump upbraided Clinton for having Mateen in the stands behind her, Foley smiled, applauded and even waved at Trump. I’ve admired so much of what he’s done.
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