Former President Donald Trump, during his first campaign event following his Thursday indictment, claimed that his polling number and fundraising are both “through the roof” after he was indicted on 37 federal felony counts over his handling of classified documents.
On Thursday, Trump revealed that his legal team had been notified by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith regarding an indictment related to the investigation into the mishandling of classified documents. The unprecedented development marked the first instance in U.S. history where a former president is facing federal criminal charges.
The announcement came after an FBI raid conducted in August at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, which allegedly uncovered multiple classified documents in the possession of the president.
During the Saturday rally in Atlanta, where he addressed the Georgia Republican Party, Trump said the charges were political in nature and that President Joe Biden was behaving like a Soviet-style dictator targeting his political enemies.
“The ridiculous and baseless indictment of me by the administration’s weaponized department of injustice will go down as among the most horrific abuses of power in the history of our country,” Trump said, according to The Epoch Times.
“Many people have said—Democrats have even said it—this vicious persecution is a travesty of justice. You’re watching Joe Biden … trying to jail his leading political opponent, that opponent that’s beating him by a lot in the polls just like they do in Stalinist Russia, or communist China, no different,” he continued.
“As far as this joke of an indictment, it’s a horrible thing. It’s a horrible thing for this country,” Trump said. “I mean, the only good thing about it is it’s driven by poll numbers way up. Can you believe it?”
“And somebody said the fundraising is through the roof, that’s less important. But I will tell you, it’s really driven us right through the sky. We’re really winning big. We’re winning over everyone—we’re beating the hell out of the Republicans and we’re beating the hell out of Joe Biden,” the former president added.
“That’s why they’re doing it. If I wasn’t, if I wasn’t, there’d be no witch hunt, there’d be no indictment.”
Later, Trump went through a litany of polling data he said was acquired by his campaign.
“We lead the field by 34 points, with Trump at 56 to DeSanctimonious [Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis] at 22, Pence at seven, Haley at three. In the Clarity Campaign Poll—I don’t know that poll, but I love it—we’re up by 56 points: Trump is at 69, DeSanctimonious is at 13, Pence is at six.
“Pence has gone down since this list,” Trump added. “He’s a nice person. He is trying to get nasty, though. So we may have to fight a different way.
“And the Emerson poll of Iowa,” he said, citing results in the key state of Iowa, where the first primary election of the 2024 campaign cycle will be held.
“In the Emerson poll of Iowa, we’re leading by 42 points with Trump at 62 percent. And we’re leading crooked Joe Biden, the most crooked president of our country, by a lot,” Trump said.
“In the Fabrizio swing state poll of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, we’re almost 50 percent, leading Biden by five. In the ABC Washington Post poll, I’m up by seven points over Biden. And the new poll from the Democracy Institute shows I’m the only candidate who beats Biden,” Trump continued.
“DeSanctis loses to him by a lot,” Trump added.
At another point, Trump mentioned that Biden is also under a special counsel investigation for his possession of classified documents, which were found at an office he used in Washington, D.C., as well as one of his Delaware homes.
Analysts have noted that Trump, as president, had the authority to declassify documents, but Biden, as a vice president and U.S. senator, did not.