Donald Trump compares himself to Mandela after running in the primaries

Article content

CONCORD, NH – Former US President Donald Trump compared himself to anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela on Monday as he portrayed himself as a victim of federal and prosecutors who he claimed were targeting him and his companies for political reasons Target reasons.

Article content

When Trump returned to New Hampshire to register for the presidential primary, he held a rally where he railed against President Joe Biden’s response to the Hamas attack on Israel and promised to place an Iron Dome-style missile defense shield over the United States to build

Article content

But he focused much of his sombre and sometimes profane speech on the criminal and civil cases against him, suggesting at one point that he would go to prison like the former South African president, who served 27 years for opposing the South Africa’s apartheid system was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

“I don’t mind being Nelson Mandela because I do it for a reason,” Trump told a gathered crowd of supporters at a sports complex in Derry, New Hampshire. “We have to save our country from these fascists.” These lunatics we are dealing with. These are terrible people and they are destroying our country.”

Article content

Article content

Trump is facing four criminal indictments as well as civil cases involving allegations that he inflated his assets, misclassified hush money payments to women during his 2016 campaign, illegally sought to overturn his 2020 election defeat and secret documents in his mar -a-building hoarded. Lago Club.

The comments came after Trump formally filed for the nation’s first primary, becoming the first president to do so in person more than once.

“Vote for Trump and solve your problems,” he wrote on the commemorative poster at the Statehouse in Concord that all candidates must sign.

Article content

This year’s candidates have until Friday to formally register, and dozens are expected. The process is simple: All you have to do is meet the basic requirements to become president, fill out a one-page form and pay a $1,000 filing fee. In 2020, 33 Democrats and 17 Republicans registered. The all-time high was in 1992, when 61 people took part in the election.

Trump won both the 2016 and 2020 Republican primaries in New Hampshire, but lost the state in both general elections.

After registering for the 2016 contest eight years ago on the first day of the registration period, Trump sent then-Vice President Mike Pence to submit his paperwork for the 2020 contest. That was in line with the tradition of other incumbents who also sent deputies, but his return Monday was something new.

Article content

The security surrounding his visit was also new. Only supporters selected by the campaign were allowed to line the hallway to the secretary of state’s office at the Statehouse, and access to the building was restricted.

In 2015, he used this experience, among other things, to brag about his personal wealth.

“They wanted a cashier’s check,” Trump said. “So this is from a bank that’s actually not as rich as us.”

On Monday, he highlighted his large lead in the current polls in New Hampshire and noted that support for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has dropped significantly.

“Bad things happen, but we keep climbing,” he said.

Later at his rally, Trump continued to criticize Biden’s response to the Hamas attack on Israel, calling the speech the president gave in response to the war last Thursday night “a grotesque betrayal of Israel” and “one of the most dangerous and deluded speeches of all.” times”. delivered from the Oval Office.”

Article content

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

He accused Biden of, by linking the threats posed by Hamas and Russia, “coming before the American people and saying if you want to support Israel, you have to write a blank check” to help Ukraine. to repel Russia’s ongoing invasion.

To protect the country, Trump said that when he returns to the White House, he will order the construction of a state-of-the-art missile defense shield over the United States, which he said is “capable of bombing the Chinese, the Russians and the Iranians.” Rockets from our sky.

“The Americans deserve an Iron Dome, and we will have it,” he said, referring to Israel’s vaunted defense system that has intercepted thousands of rockets in the days since the attack.

In the weeks since, Trump has drawn on the anti-immigrant rhetoric that fueled his 2016 campaign, calling for an expanded travel ban on Muslims and new ideological tests for immigrants. He also warned that those seeking to harm the United States could infiltrate the country’s southern border along with South American migrants.

Article content

He read the text of The snakea dark song that he has used since his first campaign as an allegory about the dangers of illegal immigration and claimed that Biden would turn the country “into a breeding ground for jihadists and our cities into landfills akin to the Gaza Strip.”

At a news conference Monday, New Hampshire Democrats criticized Trump and predicted the state’s voters would reject him if he became the Republican nominee.

“At a time when our country faces significant challenges at home and around the world, and our global leadership is as vital as ever, we must stand together. But Trump is unable to bring us together,” said U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, a Democrat. “We are the Live Free or Die State: We have no use for a man who overturns our elections or praises dictators. I know that as Granite Staters and Americans we will reject Trump and win next November.”

Article content