Donald Trump. AP FILE PHOTO
NEW YORK, United States—Flamboyant billionaire Donald Trump took a break from running for president Monday by turning up for New York jury duty in a limo, signing autographs and fist-bumping a supporter.
The tycoon, who is leading Republican polls on the race for the White House, spent the day at the New York State Supreme Court but was dismissed without being picked to serve.
A court spokesman told AFP that the former reality TV star was sent home in the late afternoon. He was photographed in a Duane Reade pharmacy during his lunch break.
The 69-year-old real estate magnate and would-be politician reported late, arriving eight minutes behind schedule at 9:08 a.m. (1308 GMT) dressed in a sharp blue suit and striped tie.
He strode up the sweeping steps of the court surrounded by a phalanx of police, television cameras and photographers, signing an autograph for one fan and fist-bumping tour guide Joe Lepore.
“2016 all the way, Donald. It’s going to be a landslide,” shouted an ecstatic Lepore as Trump marched into court.
In celebrity-drenched New York, it is not uncommon for stars to be called for jury duty, even if they end up a distraction.
Madonna, unlike Trump however, got preferential treatment in 2014—sent home after just two hours when officials deemed her superstar celebrity was a hindrance rather than a help.
Monday was a rare break in Trump’s headline-grabbing, bombastic run for the Republican nomination for president, which saw him offer children free rides on his helicopter while in Iowa over the weekend.
On Sunday, he unveiled an immigration platform that calls for millions of undocumented immigrants to leave the country and an end to America’s birthright citizenship.
Trump is himself the husband, son and grandson of immigrants.
He tops Republican polls, but has enraged the party establishment and Democrats by trash-talking Mexican immigrants and making a crude remark about a woman debate moderator.