Trump Drove Me To Drink, Says Defendant
Floridian, 82, faces DUI charge after crash
AUGUST 3--An 82-year-old Florida retiree busted for drunk driving after wrecking his golf cart claimed Donald Trump drove him to drink, according to police.
Investigators say Cary De Van, a former IBM manager, wrecked his ride early Thursday evening in a one-cart accident less than a mile from his home in The Villages, the country’s largest retirement community.
As detailed in an arrest report, De Van apparently drove his red cart over a concrete curb, breaking its axle and dislodging the windshield. The golf cart is the preferred mode of transportation for elderly Villages people, who like to think of the sprawling development as “Florida’s friendliest hometown.”
Upon contacting De Van, who was not injured in the wreck, police suspected that the octogenarian--who was slurring his words and smelled of booze--had been drinking. Pictured above, De Van was unsteady on his feet and unable to perform field sobriety tests. A pair of breath tests registered his blood alcohol content at nearly twice the .08 legal limit.
While speaking with a cop, De Van reportedly explained that he “was watching President Trump on TV then got really mad at what he said.” De Van added that began consuming vodka after enduring the current president’s performance.
Trump appeared July 30 in the White House briefing room and gave a rambling update on the administration’s coronavirus efforts. He opened his remarks by expressing “our sadness” over the death of Herman Cain, who “passed away from the thing called the China virus.” During Trump’s 32 minutes at the podium, he claimed to have saved millions of Americans from dying from “this horrible, invisible enemy.” Trump also criticized assorted “Democratic obstruction” and warned that, “Mail-in ballots will lead to the greatest fraud.”
De Van, who crashed his golf cart about 90 minutes after Trump stopped speaking, did not specify which of the multimillionaire’s remarks allegedly caused him to hit the bottle. De Van is a registered voter, but he has never declared a party affiliation, according to state records.
Charged with driving under the influence, De Van was booked into the Sumter County jail on the misdemeanor count. He was released the following morning after posting $1000 bond.
De Van’s arrest report does not reveal what brand of alcohol he turned to in the wake of Trump’s TV appearance. But a bottle of Trump Vodka, which was discontinued a decade ago, was likely not the culprit. (3 pages)