Former Florida Rep. Mark Foley sits behind Trump at rally

by Rebecca Savransky - 08/10/16 8:55 PM ET

Trump hitting at Clinton for allowing Seddique Mateen into her rally while Mark Foley sits behind him. pic.twitter.com/tSgJaZ8A6v

— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) August 11, 2016

Former Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) on Wednesday sat behind Donald Trump at the GOP nominee’s rally in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Foley resigned from his position in 2006 amid allegations that he had sent sexual emails and messages to teenage boys who had worked or were working as congressional pages.

Reporters spotted Foley on Wednesday night sitting behind the presidential candidate during his event in Florida, and he was clearly visible in video.

Mark Foley is in the crowd behind podium where @realDonaldTrump will speak at 7:30 tonight at @thebbtcenter . pic.twitter.com/HrwWDBd2J0

— Katie Johnson (@Katie_Johnson_) August 10, 2016

Disgraced former FL congressman Mark Foley is sitting behind Trump tonight in Sunshine. pic.twitter.com/7WkiElk48E

— Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) August 11, 2016

Foley told the Sun-Sentinel that he liked “the energy” of Trump’s campaign.

“I’ve been a friend of Mr. Trump’s since 1987. I’ve admired so much of what he’s done. He’s a different breed of leader and a different breed of candidate,” he said at the rally.

He said he thinks Trump will get many votes in South Florida, noting it “is a pretty hospitable area for Trump.”

Foley reportedly got his seat right behind Trump by arriving early.

Foley has previously attended Trump campaign events. He can be seen in a picture from the Palm Beach Post greeting supporters before the GOP nominee was scheduled to speak at his Mar-a-Lago resort in March.

Earlier this week, the father of Omar Mateen, who attacked a gay nightclub in Orlando in June, attended a campaign rally for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in Florida, sparking outcry from Trump and his allies. Seddique Mateen called Clinton “good for the United States” and said Trump has “no solutions.”

The Clinton campaign said Mateen wasn’t invited to her campaign rally, noting it was public event and the campaign wasn’t aware he was there.

Trump bashed Clinton for Mateen’s appearance at his Friday event and said her campaign should have known he was there.

“Wasn’t it terrible when the father of the animal that killed the wonderful people in Orlando was sitting with a big smile on his face right behind Hillary Clinton? And by the way … a lot of the people here — how many of you people know me? A lot of you people know me,” Trump said, addressing the crowd behind him as Foley raised his hand.

“When you get those seats you sort of know the campaign, so when she said, ‘Well, we didn’t know,’ he knew, they knew.”

Tags Donald Trump Hillary Clinton