Former President Trump criticized the guilty verdict he was handed in the New York criminal case against him on Sunday during an interview with “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
“It’s weaponization, and it’s a very dangerous thing. We’ve never had that in this country,” he said during the exclusive interview.
A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records on Thursday.
“People get it. It’s a scam,” he said, speaking of the trial. “And the Republican Party… they’ve stuck together in this. They see it’s a weaponization of the Justice Department of the FBI and that’s all coming out of Washington.”
The interview — which was led by co-hosts Pete Hegseth, Will Cain, and Rachel Campos-Duffy, aired in pieces throughout the show on Sunday — called on the GOP frontrunner to weigh the political landscape following the conviction. One Daily Mail poll, for instance, gave Trump a 6-point bump in approval in the immediate aftermath.
“People get it. It’s a scam,” he said, speaking of the trial. “And the Republican Party… they’ve stuck together in this. They see it’s a weaponization of the Justice Department of the FBI and that’s all coming out of Washington.”
Trump homed in on the alleged unfairness of the case – how his team sought to change the venue from deep blue Manhattan to a more favorable location, and striking at Judge Juan Merchan, who has been the subject of massive criticism among conservatives.
“We had probably, maybe the worst area in the whole country for me in terms of the vote… and they always bring them [charges] in these sections. They’re places where Republicans get virtually no votes,” he said.
“But, the good news is that I think we’ve set a record beyond all records for fundraising.”
The former president’s fundraising page crashed following Thursday’s guilty verdict, turning the conviction into cash as he saw record-setting donations roll in for his campaign.
Trump’s legal team has vowed to appeal his conviction, putting it in the hands of the New York appeals court and potentially beyond.
The former president also holds leads over President Biden in several key swing state polls, indicating some level of discontent with the current administration.
