Hours after his arraignment in Miami, Florida in a classified documents case on Tuesday, former President Donald Trump said he would go after incumbent President Joe Biden if he is reelected in 2024.
“I will appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden crime family,” Trump told supporters in Bedminster, New Jersey.
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Trump also referenced unnamed individuals whom he held accountable for undermining the country’s elections and borders.
“When I am reelected, and we will get reelected — we have no choice; we are not gonna have a country anymore — I will totally obliterate the deep state,” he said.
He also called the indictment against him “the most evil and heinous abuse in the history of our country.”
During his remarks, his supporters sang “Happy Birthday” to the former president, who will turn 77 on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, Trump pleaded not guilty to 37 counts brought by federal prosecutors related to his alleged retention of classified government records after he left office.
He became the first former US president to face federal charges when he was indicted by a Florida grand jury last week. He faces separate state charges related to his business dealings in New York.
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Trump also hit out at Democrats, saying the indictment aims to distract from a bribery scheme which allegedly involved the Biden family.
“They want to distract from the real espionage and the real crimes…Let’s go out and let’s indict President Trump so they don’t talk about the $5 million bribe,” he said.
He also slammed Special Counsel Jack Smith, calling him a “thug” and “deranged.”
Trump reiterated that the case against him is politically motivated, a charge denied by Smith, who was tapped by US Attorney General Merrick Garland in November to independently carry out the federal probe into Trump’s post-presidency retention of classified documents.