Donald Trump stared down a bank of cameras inside Trump Tower on Friday and delivered a message fitting for both his legal and political battles: He is ready to fight.
A day after a New York jury found him guilty of 34 counts related to falsifying documents to hide hush money payments to a porn star, the Republican presidential candidate rattled off a list of adversaries and grievances in angry, rambling remarks.
He called Justice Juan Merchan, who presided over his trial, “crooked” and “a devil.” He described Democrat Joe Biden, his rival in the Nov. 5 election, as “the worst president in the history of our country.” He blasted the witnesses who testified against him, the members of Congress who had voted to impeach him and – echoing his rally rhetoric – the immigrants he said were pouring into the country illegally.
Trump implored supporters to donate to his campaign, framing the challenges before him as being bigger than his alone.
“Do this,” he said, “because we’re fighting for America.”
While his other campaign speeches have often been sprinkled with humor, this one was mostly dour. Trump held just one small page of notes during the news conference. At the end, he took no questions and retreated quickly from the lectern with his son, Eric Trump, by his side.
Away from the cameras, through fundraising appeals and on social media, the former president’s allies also lashed out at the justice system and anyone who dared suggest Trump had committed a crime.
In a race where both leading candidates have portrayed each other as a threat to the nation, the Biden campaign seized on Trump’s remarks as fresh evidence that he is not fit to serve.
“America just witnessed a confused, desperate and defeated Donald Trump ramble about his own personal grievances and lie about the American justice system, leaving anyone watching with one obvious conclusion: This man cannot be president of the United States,” Michael Tyler, the Biden campaign’s communications director, said in a statement.
Trump supporters – most of whom see the New York verdict as a miscarriage of justice – flooded his campaign with $34.8 million in donations on Thursday alone, the Trump team said. That was a one-day record for Trump on WinRed, a platform that handles digital fundraising for Republicans.
The campaign, which lags Biden in total fundraising, sought to keep up the pace on Friday, blasting off a flurry of foreboding fundraising texts to supporters.
“THE DARKEST DAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY!” one message read.
