Trump calls Biden a ‘Manchurian candidate’

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – After an historic trial in which a jury found former President Donald Trump guilty on 34 charges, Trump unleashed some familiar words regarding the case.

“This is a scam, this is a rigged trial,” Trump said at a press conference Thursday at Trump Tower in New York City.

The case is one of the four in which the former president is charged with a felony. A jury found that Trump was guilty of falsifying business records to hide payments to his then- lawyer Michael Cohen, who then used the money to prevent adult film star Stormy Daniels from going public with the story of an alleged affair with Trump.

This is the first time that a former president has been found guilty of a felony in U.S. history.

Trump is the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party in the 2024 presidential election. The Trump team has used the verdict as an opportunity to accuse Democrats and the Biden administration of weaponizing the courts against political opponents.

“This is all done by Biden and his people,” Trump said.

Democrats refute that claim and point to the fact that this was tried in a state court and thus, the federal government plays no role in the trial. They also cite the similar rhetoric Trump has used to claim that the 2016 primary election and 2020 presidential election were “rigged” as a reason to ignore claims of bias.

Trump talked about a range of topics at the press conference, some more relevant to the case as others. He lamented the gag order by Judge Merchan and the treatment and conviction of former Trump Org. CFO Allen Weisselberg (though he did not explicitly name him).

Trump also talked about the southern border, electric vehicles, crime rates in New York City, polling numbers, fundraising and called President Joe Biden a “Manchurian candidate.” He did not expand fully on the last point.

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