In a televised interview aired late Sunday, former President Donald Trump strongly defended his actions surrounding the 2020 election, insisting that he was well within his rights to intervene in the electoral process. He also reiterated his belief that the criminal charges he currently faces for election interference are driven by political motivations.
Trump expressed his incredulity at how his poll numbers have risen despite facing indictments. He remarked, “It’s unbelievable—my poll numbers are going up. Who’s ever heard of that? You get indicted for interfering in a presidential election, something you had every right to do, and instead of your poll numbers dropping, they climb. Normally, when someone is indicted, their numbers tank,” Trump stated during his appearance on Fox News’s “Life, Liberty and Levin.”
The former president was responding to a comment made by the show’s host, Mark Levin, a lawyer who suggested that President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris could have intervened by instructing the attorney general to halt the federal election interference investigation. Levin’s suggestion reflects the perception among Trump’s supporters that the legal actions against him are part of a larger political vendetta.
Trump is currently facing federal charges in Washington, D.C., related to his alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. In addition to these federal charges, he is also facing state charges in Georgia, where he has been indicted for racketeering and other offenses in connection with a purported plan to reverse the election results in that state.
During the interview, Trump characterized the situation as the most egregious instance of election interference ever witnessed in the United States. He drew comparisons to tactics employed in so-called “third world countries” and parts of South America, arguing that while election interference might happen elsewhere, it is unprecedented in the U.S. “This sets a terrible precedent because it changes the way people think about elections. It’s really a sad situation,” Trump lamented.
Furthermore, Trump accused the prosecutors in his cases of harboring political biases against him. He asserted that the Department of Justice had placed individuals in the district attorney’s office with the specific aim of targeting him, their political opponent. “This whole thing was orchestrated by the Department of Justice to go after me,” Trump claimed.
He also singled out Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis, accusing her of devising a “crazy scheme” that has negatively impacted many people, including his co-defendants in the Georgia case. Trump’s remarks come just days after special counsel Jack Smith filed a superseding indictment in the federal election subversion case. This legal move followed a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court in July, which determined that sitting presidents have absolute immunity for actions that fall within their official duties and are presumed immune for other official acts.
Trump has consistently argued that this ruling should grant him immunity from the charges he faces, particularly those related to the events of January 6, 2021. The Supreme Court’s decision has sent the case back to a lower court to reassess whether Trump’s actions on that day warrant special protection from criminal prosecution. In the meantime, Smith presented the case to a second grand jury, which, after reviewing the evidence, agreed that the charges against Trump were justified.
The ongoing legal battles and Trump’s vehement public defense have further intensified the political polarization surrounding his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election. His statements during the interview reflect his strategy of portraying himself as a victim of a politically motivated legal system, a narrative that continues to resonate with his base of supporters.
