Donald Trump says indictment is ‘truly great badge of honour’

Sami Quadri5 August 2023

Donald Trump has said being indicted is a “truly great badge of honour” after his latest round of criminal charges.

On Thursday, Mr Trump attended court in Washington to plead not guilty to charges of conspiring to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden.

It is the third criminal case brought against the 77-year-old in less than six months, after he was first charged in New York with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment to an adult film actress during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Mr Trump is also accused of 40 felony counts in Florida for allegedly retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate and refusing government demands to return them.

Speaking to Republican supporters in Alabama on Friday, the former president said he goes up in the polls every time an indictment is filed. He described the allegations against him as “fake” and a “sham”.

Mr Trump also boasted that he is streets ahead of rivals vying for the Republican nomination, saying: “Nobody even has a chance.”

Mr Trump vowed to “evict crooked Joe Biden” and “expel thugs and criminals from the halls of power in DC” if he is re-elected as president.

He also accused his successor of being “the most incompetent and most corrupt president in the history of the United States” and claimed the “radical left” would not be allowed to “rig the election of 2024”.

It comes after a Reuters/Ipsos poll found that a criminal conviction could dent Mr Trump’s chances of returning to the White House should he win the Republican nomination.

Conducted before his court appearance, the two-day poll asked members if they would vote for Mr Trump in a presidential election were he “convicted of a felony crime by a jury”.

The results, released after his plea, showed that 45 per cent said they would not vote for him, compared to 35 per cent who said they would. The remaining 20 per cent said they were undecided.

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