Former President Donald Trump doesn’t appear to be too optimistic about getting out unscathed from his New York City hush money trial, telling reporters on Wednesday that “Mother Teresa could not beat these charges.”
The remarks from Trump came after he stepped outside the courthouse following the case being handed over to a jury of 12 New Yorkers.
“Mother Teresa could not beat these charges. These charges are rigged. The whole country’s a mess between the borders and fake elections, and you have a trial like this where the judge is so conflicted he can’t breathe,” Trump said.
He went on to call the case a “disgrace,” adding that he would “see how we do.”
Trump is currently facing 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments he had his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016 to keep her quiet about their alleged sexual relationship a decade earlier.
Trump has maintained his innocence throughout the trial that began last month and has even gone as far as to accuse the White House of using the justice system to stop him from campaigning against President Biden.
Nonetheless, the charges Trump is facing are usually misdemeanors, so now jurors must determine whether or not Trump acted with the intent to further another crime when deciding his innocence.
Trump must remain at the New York courthouse while the jury deliberates, according to Judge Juan Merchan.
The former president complained about this on Wednesday while speaking to reporters, saying his required presence for the trial has all but stopped his campaign efforts.
“So I’ll stay around here,” Trump said. “This is five weeks and five weeks of really essentially not campaigning, although I took a big lead in the polls over the last few weeks. Something is going on. Because I think the people of this country see that this is a rigged deal.”