Former President Donald Trump likened himself to the former president of South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize awardee Nelson Mandela during a rally on Monday.
What Happened: Trump presented himself as a victim of politically-driven federal and state prosecutors following his registration for New Hampshire’s presidential primary, PBS NewsHour reported.
The former president is currently facing multiple criminal indictments and civil trials, encompassing allegations of inflating his worth, misclassifying hush money payments, and attempting to illegally overturn his 2020 election loss.
Trump utilized the rally to criticize President Joe Biden‘s handling of Hamas attacks on Israel and pledged to construct a missile defense shield akin to Israel’s Iron Dome over the U.S. He also suggested that he would willingly go to prison like Mandela, stating, "I don't mind being Nelson Mandela because I'm doing it for a reason."
The former South African president spent 27 years in prison for opposing South Africa's apartheid system.
“We've got to save our country from these fascists, these lunatics that we're dealing with. They're horrible people and they're destroying our country."
The ex-president’s remarks came after he officially filed for the first-in-the-nation primary, becoming the first person who has served as president to do so in person more than once. “Vote for Trump and solve your problems,” he wrote on the commemorative poster at the statehouse in Concord.
Why It Matters: Trump had won the Republican primaries in New Hampshire for both the 2016 and 2020 elections, but lost the state in the general elections on both occasions. As he touted his lead in current New Hampshire polls, Trump also noted that support for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has significantly dropped.
On his return to the White House, Trump vowed to order the construction of a state-of-the-art missile defense shield over the U.S. capable of intercepting Chinese, Russian, and Iranian missiles. He also reiterated his call for an expanded Muslim travel ban and new ideological tests for immigrants.
As per RealClearPolitics poll averages, Trump maintained his lead in New Hampshire with 45 points, while Nikki Haley trailed with 14.2% and DeSantis with 10.4%.
Read Next: CNN Analyst Tells Trump’s Niece Republicans Are Playing Into ‘Hands of Hamas, Iran And Russia’
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