Claiming to be muzzled by a “partisan” judge, Donald Trump presents himself as a political victim.
A “Modern-day Mandela.” Donald Trump, candidate for the American presidential election in November surrounded by legal troubles, compared himself on Saturday to the former president of South Africa, who spent twenty-seven years of his life in prison. Indicted in four criminal cases, all of which put him at risk of prison, Donald Trump denounced the decision of magistrate Juan Merchan who imposed speech restrictions on him.
On Saturday, the Republican billionaire published a very long message on his Truth Social network, accusing the judge of “violate the law and the Constitution, at the same time”. But, he clarified, “if this completely partisan charlatan wants to put me in jail for telling the most obvious truth, I will happily become a modern-day Nelson Mandela – that would be a great honor”he said, referring to the man who put an end to the apartheid regime in South Africa in the 1990s after being a prisoner for 27 years.
A comparison that the Biden camp welcomed with disapproving irony, especially since it shortly follows Donald Trump’s publication of a false audience sketch where he is seen sitting next to Jesus Christ. “Imagine being so self-centered that you compare yourself to Jesus Christ and Nelson Mandela in the space of just over a week”mocked a spokesperson for the Democratic candidate, Jasmine Harris, in a press release.