Former President Donald Trump made his first statement on Thursday afternoon after being arraigned on charges that he conspired to overthrow the 2020 presidential election.
"This is a very sad day for America," Trump said while shielding himself from rain with an umbrella. "And it was also very sad driving through Washington, D.C., and seeing the filth and the decay and all of the broken buildings and walls and the graffiti. This is not the place that I left."
"It's a very sad thing to see it," he continued. "When you look at what's happening, this is a persecution of a political opponent. This was never supposed to happen in America."
Trump blamed the prosecution on his lead in the polls "by a lot."
"So if you can't beat him, you persecute him, or you prosecute him," he concluded. "We can't let this happen in America."
The former president declined to answer questions.
