Trump channels his inner martyr, tells loyalists ‘I’m being indicted for you’

Former US President Donald Trump, on Saturday, labelled his two indictments this year as badges of "honor" that he is willing to sport with pride for the sake of his staunch supporters. Taking the mic at the Faith and Freedom Coalition gala in Washington DC, the 2024 presidential hopeful vowed to topple the Department of Justice that has been “weaponized” by the incumbent government.

“I’m being indicted for you and I believe that ‘you’ is more than 200 million people who love our country. This is a continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time," he said as the audience cheered in unison. 

“They want to interfere with the upcoming election, they want to demean, insult … whatever’s necessary to win,” he added. Throughout the speech, Trump stuck to his stance of innocence, proclaiming that he was a mere victim of a “witch hunt” that aims to squash his presidential aspirations for the elections next year.

An indicted Trump declares war against DOJ

But he pledged that if things turn out in his favour, he would “direct a completely overhauled DOJ to investigate every radical DA in America." Trump then bragged, basking in the glory that he is "probably the only person in history who was indicted and my numbers went up."

During his speech, the 45th president did not forget to bash his successor Joe Biden. He branded the 80-year-old “the most corrupt president in the history of our country" over the legal drama that the president's son, Hunter, is ensnarled in. Trump's address to his supporters comes after he was indicted on 34 counts in April for falsifying business records and paying hush money before the 2016 polls. 

History repeated itself earlier this month when he was indicted yet again in Florida, this time for mishandling classified material that was recovered from his Mar-A-Lago estate last year during an FBI raid. Trump has maintained that he is innocent and is being targetted in a ploy.