President Trump in New York City for fund-raising events
NEW YORK (WABC) -- President Donald Trump brushed aside the ongoing Russia probe and reveled in the Senate passage of a tax bill as he came to New York City Saturday to host a series of fund-raisers.
Several hundred protesters gathered across the street from the restaurant hosting Trump. Activists shouted "shame" and one held a sign that read: "Shame on your tax reform."
Trump arrived at JFK Airport to host three events, with tickets ranging from $1,000 to $50,000 each.
The events are expected to raise $6 million for "Trump Victory" which is a joint fundraising committee formed by Trump's campaign and the Republican National Committee.
His first stop was a fundraising breakfast at Cipriani's on Manhattan's East Side., where there was a massive police presence Saturday morning.
The NYPD also set up barricades and closed some streets in the area.
After Cipriani's, the president headed to The Pierre Hotel near Central Park, followed by a fund-raiser at a private home on the Upper East Side.
The visit came a day after former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and promised cooperation with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
The president told reporters there was "no collusion" between his campaign and the Russians, then tweeted, "nothing to hide!" He said he "had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI" and defended Flynn's actions during the presidential transition as lawful.
The tax legislation now goes to a House-Senate committee, which will try to reconcile the versions passed by each chamber. "Something beautiful is going to come out of that mixer," Trump said. "People are going to be very, very happy."
Inside Cipriani, the president turned nostalgic about the 2016 election and recalled that few people expected him to notch the required 270 electoral votes to claim the White House.
Looking ahead, the president boasted that Democrats' prospects in 2020 looked bleak.
"Right now unless they have somebody that we don't know about, right now we're unbeatable. We're unbeatable," Trump said. "And one of the reasons is what's happening with the markets, what's happening with business, what's happening with jobs."
The president noted that the Senate's nearly $1.5 trillion tax overhaul passed with only Republican votes and predicted that Democrats would regret their opposition.
"That's going to cost them very big in the election," he said. "Because basically they voted against tax cuts and I don't think politically it's good to vote against tax cuts."
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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