Donald Trump insists he will not withdraw from the US presidential race even if he is convicted as a 37-count indictment looms large above his head.
The 76-year-old former president says it is business as usual as he continues jetting around the country on his campaign trail, with his latest stop in Columbus, Georgia.
He’s maintaining his innocence of any wrongdoing and has blasted special counsel Jack Smith, who unsealed the indictment against him, while arguing that the case against him was politically motivated and flimsy.
“These are thugs and degenerates who are after me,” he said, before adding of the presidential race: “I’ll never leave.
“Look, if I would have left, I would have left prior to the original race in 2016. That was a rough one. In theory that was not doable.”
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Trump is not legally prohibited from running for president from prison or as a convicted criminal. But such a bid would provide a massive stress test for the country’s political and legal systems.
He doesn’t think it will get that far anyway, confidently predicting he would not be convicted, while also not looking at taking a plea deal, although he left open the possibility of doing so “where they pay me some damages”. He said: “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
Despite the possibility of a conviction, Trump says his popularity has increased among the US voters, although he is tying not to be distracted by the charges levelled against him, which include accusations of violating the Espionage Act, retention of classified documents and obstruction of justice, while his personal valet Waltine Nau has also been charged.
He went on: “Nobody wants to be indicted. I don’t care that my poll numbers went up by a lot. I don’t want to be indicted.
“I’ve never been indicted. I went through my whole life, now I get indicted every two months. It’s been political.”
Trump is also facing an indictment in New York, stemming from allegations that he concealed hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels.
He is also under investigation in Georgia over his efforts to pressure officials to overturn the state’s 2020 vote count. Smith is also investigating Trump’s role in instigating the January 6 Capitol riot.
His supporters were out in force at Columbus on Saturday (June 10), with some at the airport holding up “witch hunt” signs, while at the Georgia state party convention, the crowd was filled with people wearing “Make America Great Again” hats.
