In view of his anger with the judiciary, former US President Donald Trump has once again aligned himself with the late South African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela. In a long post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, Trump railed against New York judge Juan Merchan, who had imposed a restricted speech ban on the ex-president in a criminal case involving the alleged falsification of business documents to disguise a hush money payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels .
Trump, who had insulted the judge and his daughter in numerous posts on Truth Social, accused Merchan of violating “the law and the Constitution.” If this “totally biased” judge wants to send him to prison “for telling the most obvious truth, then I would be happy to become a modern-day Nelson Mandela – it will be my great honor,” Trump wrote.
The 77-year-old, whose re-candidacy in the presidential election in November is almost certain, had already compared himself last year to Nobel Peace Prize winner Mandela, who died in 2013. He fought against the apartheid system in South Africa for decades and spent 27 years in prison before being released in 1991. Mandela was elected president in the country's first democratic elections in 1994.
A few days ago, Trump also distributed a fake court drawing in which he can be seen next to Jesus. President Joe Biden's campaign team responded with plenty of ridicule: “Imagine being so self-centered that you compare yourself to Jesus Christ and Nelson Mandela in just over a week,” said a spokeswoman for the Biden team.
In addition to the proceedings in connection with the hush money affair, there are three other criminal charges with much more serious allegations pending against Trump: These concern his attempts to subsequently overturn his 2020 election defeat against current Democratic President Joe Biden, as well as his taking secret government documents with him to his private residence in Florida.
