Former President Donald Trump said Sunday that he had “every right” to interfere in the 2020 election, even as he faces two criminal charges related to the allegations. On Monday, Kamala Harris’ campaign charged that the comments were evidence that Trump believed he was “above the law.”
In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Trump went on a long rant about the Justice Department and its treatment of him, accusing him of being targeted. Trump was surprised that the criminal charges against him did nothing but increase his poll numbers because his supporters didn’t accept the charges in the first place.
“Who heard that you’re being indicted for meddling in the presidential election, where you have every right to do so, and you’re being indicted and your poll numbers are going up?” Trump said. “When people are charged, your poll numbers go down. But this was such, such nonsense.”
last week, Trump was impeached again In his efforts to overcome his defeat in the 2020 elections. Accused of trying to execute Trump a multifaceted effortthis includes attempting to disenfranchise voters in some states, and tampering with election results by repeatedly claiming that the claims were stolen when he knew the claims were false. Authorities say Trump’s false claims were the catalyst for the January 6, 2021, violent attack on the US Capitol. The former president faces similar election interference charges in Fulton County, Georgia.
On Monday, Harris campaign spokeswoman Sarafina Chitika condemned Trump’s comments to Fox News, saying they were another example of the “chaos, fear and division” Americans are experiencing under Trump.
“Everything that Donald Trump has promised on the campaign trail — from ‘terminating’ the Constitution to jailing political opponents and vowing to rule as a dictator on ‘day one’ — makes it clear that he believes he is above the law. Now Trump claims he has the right to interfere in the 2020 election. He did not,” Chitika said in a statement.
Trump’s comments come after July The decision of the Supreme Court gave the president extended powers of immunity from criminal prosecution if his actions were related to official acts. Last week, Trump’s new indictment was drafted to take the new sentence into account.
Lindsey Pipia contributed.