Donald Trump Compares Himself to Anti-Apartheid Activist Nelson Mandela

Donald J. Trump has refused to back down, accept, or surrender before ninety-one criminal charges against him across four different indictments. Instead, the Republican frontrunner is adamant "he did nothing wrong," and recently, during his visit to the New Hampshire Secretary of State, he drew his comparison to activist Nelson Mandela. 

Nelson Mandela spent twenty-seven years in African prison, only to return and emerge as the changemaker who rid the nation of decades-old apartheid. As the world knows, he, too, faced numerous criminal charges, similar to Trump. Therefore, the 77-year-old painted his image as Mandela's. 

After filing his nomination paperwork in New Hampshire, Trump led the rally and addressed the crowd of around 2,500 supporters. "If you want to challenge the result of an election, they hound you," said the Republican candidate. He declared, "But we don't get scared — we don't get scared." 

Trump implied the similitude of being the victim of political persecution (as faced by Mandela) and claimed, "I don't mind being Nelson Mandela because I'm doing it for a reason," per CNN. He continued, "We've got to save our country from these fascists, these lunatics that we're dealing with."

He added, "They're horrible people, and they're destroying our country." Trump is facing ninety-one criminal charges across four indictments- The January 6 Capitol Riots case, the Classified Documents case, the Georgia Election Interference case, and the Hush Money case involving his relationship with adult star Stormy Daniels. 

Aside from these, the 77-year-old is fighting a civil fraud lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James, claiming he inflated his financial assets to earn favors like insurance and low interest rates. However, Trump's comparison of himself to Mandela was built on his willingness to go to jail if that's what it takes to save America, exactly like Mandela. 

The Nobel Peace Prize winner was released in 1990 after 27 years in prison. Mandela was awarded the prestigious award for his role in the "peaceful termination of the apartheid regime and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa." Similarly, Trump claimed he'd face anything, even imprisonment, to establish democracy in the U.S. 

His speech also focused on the Hamas versus Israel war, criticizing his political rival Joe Biden and insisting that America is unsafe under Biden's administration. Talking about the Democrat, he recalled when the 80-year-old said 'he'd take Trump behind the gym and beat the hell out of him' if they were both in high school.'

The Republican hit back, "I dream of that. You know what I'd do with him?" He threw a few punches in the air with a background sound and added, "I'd hit him right in that fake nose. He'd have plastic lying all over the floor," per Daily Mail. He continued with his verbal attacks on Biden, targeting his age. 

"Crooked Joe can't even walk up the children's stairs," the former president laughed. For Trump, the road to the 2024 elections isn't as smooth sailing as it seems. Amid the criminal charges, some of his attorneys pleaded guilty, and outside of the New Hampshire Statehouse, protestors lined up to ridicule him, chanting, "Lock him up!"