Trump Celebrates Acquittal at White House, Apologizes to His Family for 'Very Rotten Deal'

President Trump took a victory lap on Thursday, giving his first speech after being acquitted on Wednesday in the Senate. 

The president held a "celebration" Thursday afternoon at the White House, speaking out against the impeachment investigations against him and in a remarkable moment apologized to his family. 

"I want to apologize to my family for having them having to go through a very rotten deal by some evil and sick people and that includes Baron, Ivanka. Honey – come," as Trump motioned to First lady Melania Trump to come up to the podium for a hug. 

Just a few hours after appearing at the National Prayer Breakfast, and less than 24 hours after his acquittal, the President addressed the nation from the East Room of the White House. 

Trump and his supporters say his acquittal is a full vindication and exoneration. The president called the event, not a speech or news conference, but a "celebration"

"I've done some things wrong, I will admit, but this is what the end result is," Trump told the assembled audience, holding up a newspaper with the headline "Trump Acquitted" printed in bold ink across the top.

"We can take that home honey. I'm going to frame it. It's the only good headline I've ever had in The Washington Post," the president said.  

He then gave a shout out to his legal team and Republican lawmakers calling them a "great group of warriors." 

"Mitch McConnell you did a fantastic job," he said. 

But one vote which denied Trump a unanimous "not guilty" verdict was when Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) voted to convict him on the first article of impeachment. 

"My promise before God to apply impartial justice required, I put biases aside for the sake of a partisan end expose my character to history's rebuke and the censure of my own conscience," Romney said before the Senate vote Wednesday. 

It was a historic vote that did not go unnoticed by President Trump. 

"One failed presidential candidate and I call that half a vote cause he actually voted for us on the other one, but we had one failed presidential candidate that's the only vote we lost," Trump said. 

And the president doubled down on his earlier swipes at the National Prayer Breakfast.

"I had Nancy Pelosi sitting four seats away and I said some things that a lot of people wouldn't have said. But I meant every word of it, " he added.  

Trump called the House Speaker "a horrible person."

"She may pray, but she prays for the opposite – but I doubt she prays at all," he said. 

Rep. Pelosi (D-CA) earlier said the president is forever impeached, justifying her decision to tearing up his State of the Union speech in front of a national television audience as a dignified act. 

"I tore up the misrepresentation of the truth," she said.  

Trump said that he'll probably have to deal with impeachment in the future and if that happens he said, "We'll beat them again if we have to."