Former US president Donald Trump, who appeared before a court as a criminal defendant, declared on Friday (August 4) that the charges he faces only help his 2024 presidential campaign.
He said that if there is one more indictment, the election “is closed out”.
Trump pleaded not guilty yesterday before a US court in a case relating to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 poll results in which he suffered a loss.
This is his third criminal indictment this year and the latest seems to be the most serious one as the federal government he once ran charged him with planning a scheme to block the peaceful transfer of power.
"Any time they file an indictment, we go way up in the polls," Trump said at a Republican Party dinner in Alabama.
"We need one more indictment to close out this election. One more indictment, and this election is closed out. Nobody has even a chance,” he added.
Trump took the stage on Friday night, flashed his thumbs-up at the crowd, raised his fist and took a standing ovation of nearly three minutes.
The latest set of charges focuses on the two months between his November 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden and the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol. Trump has denied wrongdoing and wedded his 2024 presidential campaign to his legal defence and his false claims of 2020 election fraud.
Trump’s campaign released an online ad on Friday hitting out Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith who led an investigation resulting in the latest charges against the former US president.
The ad is expected to go on air next week. It also slams Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who has charged Trump in a hush money case, and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is believed to be close to filing charges in her investigation into efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.
According to an aide of Trump, the ad will go live on television on Monday and Tuesday in Washington, DC, New York, Atlanta and on national cable.
It was also displayed to the crowd at the Alabama dinner on Friday night.
(With AP inputs)
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