President Joe Biden told a group of campaign workers in New Hampshire Tuesday, “We’ve got to lock him up,” referring to former President Donald Trump.
Trump the next day jumped on the moment, claiming Biden’s comment proves he is being politically persecuted.
“As I’ve said, these lawsuits are being run by the Department of Justice, the FBI. Biden is behind it all, believe it or not, and he proved that yesterday with his stupid statement,” Trump said. The former president was convicted by a New York jury in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
Trump also faces counts in three other cases related to his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House and efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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The former president has a common refrain at rallies, claiming that he has “been under investigation more than the legendary Alfonse Capone,” an American gangster who gained notoriety during the prohibition era. And Trump has repeatedly threatened to prosecute or punish his perceived enemies.
Biden said the former president thinks he has a right under a recent Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity “to actually eliminate, physically eliminate – shoot, kill – someone who is, he believes, to be a threat to him.”
“If I said this five years ago, you’d lock me up,” Biden said while stopping at the New Hampshire Democratic Headquarters in Concord this week. “We’ve got to lock him up.”
The president quickly clarified, “Politically lock him up. Lock him out. That’s what we have to do.”
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Biden and Democrats have been careful to avoid commenting on Trump’s legal woes. While chants of “lock him up” occur frequently at campaign events for Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee has attempted to shut down the crowds’ cheers, saying she is focused on beating him at the ballot box.
Trump’s campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt condemned Biden’s remarks Tuesday.
“Joe Biden just admitted the truth: He and Kamala’s plan all along has been to politically persecute their opponent President Trump because they can’t beat him fair and square,” Leavitt said.
