Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: After his surrender and arrest, former US President Donald Trump, 76, on Wednesday claimed the planet could suffer from a nuclear-charged Third World War under his successor Joe Biden, whom he also accused of receiving USD 10 million from China.
Trump, who made history by becoming the first American President to be charged, surrender, and be arrested, made these comments during his first public address since being arraigned on Tuesday.
The planet may face an all-out nuclear World War III under the Biden administration, the ex-President said and accused the current US government of destroying the country, the media reported.
Trump, who arrived in style, pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records at his arraignment in a Manhattan court on charges relating to hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels.
He said that there are open threats by various countries of the use of nuclear weapons, something which no nation ever mentioned or discussed during his administration (2017-22). He is also likely to contest the 2024 presidential election.
“This could very well lead under the Biden administration’s leadership to an all-out nuclear World War III. We’re not very far away from it, believe it or not,” Trump said during the address at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, soon after he flew back from New York.
Trump, a Republican, said the US is now in a mess under President Joe Biden, a Democrat.
“Our economy is crashing. Inflation is out of control. Russia has joined hands with China. Can you believe that? Saudi Arabia has joined with Iran,” he said.
Trump said China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea have come together as a “menacing and destructive coalition,” which could have never happened under his leadership.
“If I were your President it would have never happened. Nor would Russia have attacked Ukraine. All of those lives could have been saved. All of those beautiful cities would still be standing,” he said, referring to the destruction caused in Ukraine after the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.
“Our currency is crashing and will soon no longer be the world standard, which will be our greatest defeat frankly, in 200 years. There will be no defeat like that. It will take us away from being even a great power,” Trump said.
He also accused his successor Biden of destroying the country.
“If you took the five worst presidents in the history of the United States and added them up they would not have done near the destruction to our country as Joe Biden and the Biden administration have done,” Trump said.
The media reported that the former President proved on Tuesday that old habits die hard as his appearance at a New York courthouse touched off a media circus that overshadowed weddings at a marriage bureau across the street.
For years, he earned a reputation as a “wedding crasher”—surprising couples who tied the knot at his golf courses with impromptu speeches on election fraud, his personal grievances, and, if they were lucky, the bride and groom.
Trump was in Manhattan, the most densely populated of New York City’s five boroughs, to answer charges related to a hush-money payment to a porn star, and crowds of protesters, reporters, and curious tourists thronged the streets as would-be newlyweds waited for their turn to get hitched.
“I didn’t realize it was happening right here,” Peter Don, 30, told NBC as he prepared to declare “I do” at the New York City Marriage Bureau to Monique Beckford Khalia. “It’s funny, but it’s not going to ruin our day.”
“This is our day,” added Khalia, 25.
Dominic Lamarco and his spouse had also picked their special day some time in advance and could not have anticipated the spectacle that would play out around them.
Lamarco told NBC Trump being formally charged on their wedding day only made the occasion “more joyful.”
The Republican billionaire’s star may have outlived his presidency, as videos and anecdotes of his off-the-cuff speeches at weddings at his residence in Florida have continued to go viral since he left office in 2021.