Former US President Donald Trump revealed over the weekend that he has no intention of leaving the 2024 campaign trail, even if he winds up convicted over the classified records he stored at his Mar-a-Lago Florida home.
Trump admitted to US media on Saturday that if he was ever going to drop out of the political sphere, he would have done so before the start of the 2016 election cycle.
“I’ll never leave,” Trump said. “Look, if I would have left I would have left prior to the original race in 2016. That was a rough one. In theory that was not doable.”
The former commander-in-chief followed up his remarks by reiterating past criticisms of special counsel Jack Smith, who is overseeing the Mar-a-Lago case, and noting that he does not believe any of the 37 charges being leveled at him will stick.
While Trump also pointed out he has no present desire to take a plea deal, he also informed reporters that he didn't see him pardoning himself if he successfully clinches the Oval Office in the upcoming US election.
“I didn’t do anything wrong," Trump said. "I don’t care that my poll numbers went up by a lot. I don’t want to be indicted. I’ve never been indicted. I went through my whole life, now I get indicted every two months. It’s been political."
In addition to the Friday-released indictment against Trump, the former president was previously hit with a 34-count indictment over business fraud in April. However, that's not the end of Trump's troubles as he is also facing down a separate investigation in Georgia, where investigators are looking into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
In regards to the Mar-a-Lago indictment, Trump is scheduled to appear in court for the case on Tuesday in Miami, Florida.