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Donald Trump drives by MAGA fans at impromptu rally in Florida on Presidents' Day, dominates Twitter despite ban

Pro-Trump supporters gathered intending to show support for 'America's greatest President' as they displayed pro-Trump flags and waved at him as his motorcade drove by

Former President Donald Trump made his first public appearance following his acquittal in the second impeachment trial as a large crowd gathered in West Palm Beach on Monday, February 15, to show their support for him. The crowd gathered as part of a pro-Trump rally to mark President's Day which was held on the corner of Southern Boulevard and Parker Avenue, located near Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club.

The former president also dominated Twitter despite the permanent ban against him as Parler made its return after it was booted offline following the Capitol Hill riots. Pro-Trump supporters gathered intending to show support for "America's greatest President" as they displayed pro-Trump flags and waved flags.

As the rally was going on, Trump's motorcade drove by with the former president looking out in smiles and giving thumbs up to his supporters. The rally happened just days after Trump was acquitted by the Senate in a 57-43 vote in his historic second impeachment trial. 

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Many took to Twitter to show their support for Trump. The former president was handed a permanent suspension from Twitter following the failed insurrection attempt at the US Capitol on January 6, during which five people, including a Capitol police officer, died.

One user wrote, "Happy Presidents Day to President Donald J Trump! The best President America has had in my lifetime. #presidentsday2021." Another tweeted, "Lets recognize the greatest President in history today. Happy Presidents Day Sir. Donald Trump."

Trump supporter Sebastian Gorka tweeted, "Donald Trump will go down as one of the most successful and consequential Presidents of the modern age. Happy Presidents Day. #RollOn2024," as another user wrote, "In honor of Presidents Day I would like to say Joseph R Biden is not my President Happy Presidents Day to the greatest President Donald J Trump #PresidentsDay."

Trump's suspension from Twitter prompted questions as to whether the former president would turn to Parler, before the app and the website were booted off Apple, Google and Amazon platforms following the Capitol Hill riots. The app finally made its return online after more than a month without service. 

The Twitter-like app which is favored by pro-Trump supporters for its "free speech" said it was "here to stay." The company said in a statement, "Parler, the world's #1 free speech social media platform with over 20 million users, is announcing its official relaunch today, built on sustainable, independent technology and not reliant on so-called 'Big Tech' for its operations."

"When Parler was taken offline in January by those who desire to silence tens of millions of Americans, our team came together, determined to keep our promise to our highly engaged community that we would return stronger than ever," Mark Meckler, Interim CEO at Parler, said in the announcement.

However, BBC reported that the app was not available for all users immediately and that users reported that their posts from the previous version had vanished from their profiles. Parler said that its plan was to bring the service back online for existing users first and that new users would be able to sign up in a week's time.

Those who already have the app downloaded can log in. However, those who did not have the app installed must "sideload" the software — meaning that it has to be sourced and installed outside of Google's Play Store.