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| AP |
Former U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on Friday that the four formal charges he faces have boosted his support among African Americans, as they see him as a victim of discrimination. He compared the legal jeopardy he is facing with the historical legacy of racial biases in the U.S. legal system.
Trump contends that he is a victim of political persecution, despite no evidence that President Joe Biden or White House officials influenced the filing of 91 serious charges against him. A few days ago, Trump likened himself to Alexei Navalny, the leading internal rival of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who died in a remote Arctic prison after being imprisoned by the Kremlin leader.
"I have been charged for nothing, for something that is nothing," Trump declared at a gala event for African American conservatives in South Carolina ahead of the Republican primaries on Saturday. "And many people said that's why African Americans like me because they have been hurt so much and have been discriminated against, and they really saw me as someone who is being discriminated against. It's been quite amazing, but possibly, maybe, there's something there."
Trump has centered his third White House campaign on his grievances against Biden and what he alleges is a "deep state" attacking him, even as he faces charges for his attempts to overturn the 2020 elections, keeping classified documents in his Florida mansion, and allegedly orchestrating payments to a porn actress.
He leads the Republican presidential nomination preferences, as many Republican voters share his views, and is favored to decisively defeat Nikki Haley, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, in her home state.
Trump referred to the police photo taken of him in Georgia after being formally charged with state charges of conspiracy related to the 2020 elections.
"When they took the mugshot in Atlanta, that mugshot is number one," he said, adding, "Do you know who embraced it more than anybody else? The Black population."
Trump's campaign team has predicted that he can perform better among black voters in November than he did four years ago. He pointed to Biden's shaky numbers in polls among black adults and what Trump considers advantages on issues such as the economy and the record-high number of people crossing the Mexico-U.S. border, who often end up in cities with large black populations.