Former President Donald Trump reacted to becoming the first ex-president in U.S. history to be indicted by going on his social media platform Truth Social and blasting the "Thugs and Radical Left Monsters" he said are responsible.
In all caps, Trump asserted that "THIS IS AN ATTACK ON OUR COUNTRY THE LIKES OF WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE ... A NATION IN SERIOUS DECLINE. SO SAD!" In a separate statement, Trump called the Manhattan district attorney's investigation "political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history." He accused Democrats of continuously trying to "Get Trump," adding, "now they've done the unthinkable. Indicting a completely innocent person."
Trump's adult sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, also commented, with Trump Jr. stating on his podcast that "this is stuff that would make Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot, it would make them blush." On Twitter, his brother accused the Manhattan District Attorney's office of "third world prosecutorial misconduct."
The specific charges against Trump are not yet known. A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said Trump's attorney was contacted on Thursday afternoon to coordinate the former president's surrender to the DA's office for arraignment on the indictment, which remains under seal. Chris Kise, Trump's lawyer, called the indictment "the lowest point in history for our criminal justice system," and accused the district attorney of trying to "cash in on the Trump brand."