Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump compared himself to a "modern-day Mandela" on Saturday, in a move that was strongly criticized by the camp of his Democratic rival, President Joe Biden. Trump made this statement through a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Why did Trump compare himself to Mandela?
- Over the past year, the former president has faced charges in four criminal cases, each of which carries a potential prison sentence.
- The controversial billionaire is accused in one of these cases of illegally paying hush money to a porn star regarding an alleged affair between them, with the trial set to begin on April 15.
- Trump regularly attacks Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing this trial, through inflammatory messages he posts on social media, while the judge has imposed restrictions on statements made by the defendant regarding this case.
- In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump elaborated on these imposed restrictions, accusing the judge of "violating the law and the Constitution at the same time."
- Trump stated, "If this biased charlatan wants to send me to prison for telling the clear and obvious truth, I will gladly become Nelson Mandela of modern times; it will be a great honor."
