Donald Trump showed up at an MMA event in downtown Miami. See how the crowd reacted

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Former President Donald Trump made an appearance at the UFC 287 mixed martial arts event in downtown Miami on Saturday, days after he became the first ex-U.S. president to face criminal charges stemming from hush money payments to an adult film star during the 2016 election.

Trump shook hands and waved to a cheering crowd at the Kaseya Center, where the Miami Heat plays basketball, before he sat in the cage-side between Dana White, UFC president, and singer Robert James Ritchie, known professionally as Kid Rock. Trump was also seen standing from his chair to greet his supporters who were among nearly 20,000 people in attendance.

“USA! USA!” some chanted.

Former President Donald Trump and Kid Rock attend UFC 287 at the Kaseya Center on Saturday, April 8, 2023, in downtown Miami, Fla.
Former President Donald Trump and Kid Rock attend UFC 287 at the Kaseya Center on Saturday, April 8, 2023, in downtown Miami, Fla.

READ MORE: Donald Trump, indicted in New York, is first ex-U.S. president to face criminal charges

Miami fighter Jorge Masvidal who retired after losing to Gilbert Burns Saturday night and ending his 20-year-old mixed martial arts career, fired up supporters of Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Masdival, 38, referred to Trump is the “greatest” president in the history of the world.”

“I love that guy!” he said. “We also got the greatest governor of all time here in Florida.”

Gilbert Burns, left, defeats Jorge Masvidal in their welterweight title match during the UFC 287 event at the Kaseya Center on Saturday, April 8, 2023, in downtown Miami, Fla.
Gilbert Burns, left, defeats Jorge Masvidal in their welterweight title match during the UFC 287 event at the Kaseya Center on Saturday, April 8, 2023, in downtown Miami, Fla.

READ MORE: White House or jail? Historians see Trump arraignment as start of an uncertain chapter

The fighter also made a call to “replace” President Joe Biden in the White House. He also used an expletive when calling for Biden’s removal.

“Let’s take that you-know-who ... Let’s go Brandon [expletive] out of power and replace him,” he said.

READ MORE: ‘All Trump’: Former president’s indictment puts GOP rivals in an awkward position

Masdival then led Trump supporters in chanting “Let’s go Brandon,” a code phrase among Republicans to insult Biden.

Former President Donald Trump attends UFC 287 at the Kaseya Center on Saturday, April 8, 2023, in downtown Miami, Fla.
Former President Donald Trump attends UFC 287 at the Kaseya Center on Saturday, April 8, 2023, in downtown Miami, Fla.

READ MORE: UFC 287 numbers prove Miami’s growth in MMA in 20 years, and local hero Jorge Masvidal retires

Trump faces historic criminal charges

Trump was arraigned Tuesday after he was charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree because he concealed “damaging information and unlawful activity from American voters before and after the 2016 election,” according to the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr.

The one-term president and others, the district attorney’s office says, employed a “catch and kill” scheme to “identify, purchase, and bury negative information about him and boost his electoral prospects.”

Stephanie Clifford, known as Stormy Daniels in the adult film industry, leaves Manhattan Federal Court on April 16, 2018, in New York.
Stephanie Clifford, known as Stormy Daniels in the adult film industry, leaves Manhattan Federal Court on April 16, 2018, in New York.

READ MORE: Stormy Daniels must pay $122,000 in Trump legal bills

The office accused Trump of going to “great lengths to hide this conduct, causing dozens of false entries in business records to conceal criminal activity, including attempts to violate state and federal election laws.”

Among the people who were paid, the office says, were a former Trump Tower doorman, who claimed to have a story about a child Trump had out of wedlock, and adult film actress Stephanie Gregory Clifford, better known as Stormy Daniels, who alleges had an extra-marital affair with the former president four months after his wife, Melania Trump, gave birth to their son, Barron.

Trump has denied all allegations.