Just after conviction, Trump gets huge applause at NJ sporting event

The verdict is in: UFC fans still love Donald Trump.

The former president, fresh from his conviction in New York court on 34 felony counts, appeared Saturday night at the Prudential Center in Newark, where he sat cageside for a UFC 302 fight.

The sold-out crowd of more than 17,800 spectators brought in a record $17.25 million for the venue, NJ.com reported. And the fans didn’t even know Trump would be there.

Trump entered to thunderous applause just after the preliminary portion of the event.

Trump was in New Jersey last month before his first criminal trial wrapped up. He brought tens of thousands of supporters to the Wildwood beach and boardwalk for a political rally.

His conviction may have done little to dampen support in some quarters, as evidenced by his Saturday night appearance in Newark, where he got as much attention as fighter Islam Makhachev defending his lightweight title over Dustin Poirier.

Trump shook hands with the announcers and sat with Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White.

Trump, the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a crime, will be sentenced in July.

He also faces trials in Georgia, Florida and Washington, D.C., as he runs for president a third time. It is still unclear whether any of those trials will take place before the November election, when the twice-impeached Republican faces President Joe Biden in a rematch.