PRESIDENT Donald Trump has slammed the criminal cases against him during his historic speech at the Department of Justice on Friday.
During a speech at the Department of Justice on Friday, Trump delivered a lengthy address, becoming the first president in a decade to directly speak to the department. He did not shy away from criticizing the previous administration in his remarks.
Trump used the platform to vow to take a tough stance on crime, addressing a range of contentious issues and directing his criticisms towards the Justice Department under Joe Biden.
His visit to the department followed the dismissal of two federal cases against him after he won the 2024 presidential election.
The president said he told his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, he wouldn’t curse on stage, but he couldn’t help himself when blasting the criminal cases against him.
“I promised my wife not to use bad words, but the case against me was bulls**t,” he slammed as the crowd applauded.
He went on to demand that the “deranged” prosecutors and “scum” who investigated the case against him should face time behind bars.
“These are people that are bad people, really bad people,” Trump said.
“The people who did this to us should go to jail.”
However, there was one judge who survived his wrath – Trump praised Judge Aileen Cannon for throwing out his classified documents criminal case last summer.
“She was the absolute model of what a judge should be,” he said, adding that she was “strong and tough.”
Cannon tossed Trump’s case after ruling that special counsel Jack Smith’s appointment in the case violated the Constitution.
A grand jury indicted Trump in 2023 for allegedly taking classified documents from the White House when he left office.
Trump further defended Cannon, calling out people who claimed, “She was slow, she wasn’t smart, she was totally biased, she loved Trump.”
He also said it should be illegal to criticize federal judges.
“They take such abuse and very simply they are afraid of bad publicity,” he said. “It probably should be illegal.”
Donald Trump Rally Shooting Timeline
Donald Trump was shot at during his Pennsylvania rally on July 13.
1 pm: Doors open at the Butler Farm Show grounds where Trump was expected to speak at 5 pm.
4:11 pm: Sean Parnell gave the opening speech.
4:35 pm: David McCormick rallied the crowd.
5:10 pm: Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, later identified as the shooter, was first identified as a person of interest.
5:30 pm: Crooks was spotted with a rangefinder.
5:30 pm: Crowds were still waiting for Trump.
5:52 pm: Crooks was spotted on the roof by Secret Service.
6:02 pm: Trump takes the stage.
6:09 pm: Two sniper teams posted on buildings to the north and south behind the rally stage repositioned and were locked on Crooks.
6:12 pm: Gunshots were fired toward the stage as Trump delivered remarks.
6:12 pm: Secret Service returns fire, confirming the shooter is dead.
6:12 pm: Trump was ushered off stage by Secret Service agents.
6:42 pm: Secret Service confirmed Trump is safe.
7:24 pm: The shooter and one rally attendee are confirmed dead by law enforcement officials.
8:42 pm: Trump confirms he was shot in the ear, sharing a statement on Truth Social.
8:49 pm: The Secret Service confirms the shooter and a rally attendee are dead. Two others remain critically injured.
Trump didn’t just call for punishment for his courtroom opponents – he said journalists and Democrats should also be jeopardized.
“I believe that CNN and MSNDC, who literally write 97.6% bad about me, are political arms of the Democrat Party,” Trump said at the DOJ.
“And in my opinion, they are really corrupt and they are illegal. What they do is illegal.”
TRUMP’S ‘MIRACLE’
Eight months after the assassination attempt against him, Trump addressed the terrifying shooting and said it was a “miracle” he was still alive during his speech at the Department of Justice on Friday.
He said he spoke to the DOJ after the assassination attempt during his rally in July 2024.
The president said it’s a “miracle” he survived the shooting, which grazed his ear and killed one rally attendee, Corey Comperatore.
“My ear is still throbbing,” Trump said on Friday, prompting a standing ovation from the crowd.
On July 13, 2024, gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at Trump while he spoke at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
TURNING THE PAGE
On Friday, Trump vowed to bring an end to “four long years of corruption” brought on by former President Joe Biden’s presidency.
As Trump spoke, a box labeled “DEA evidence” sat next to his podium.
He was flanked by signs that boasted “fighting fentanyl in America.”
Trump spoke about his determination to end the fentanyl crisis and the crime epidemic America faces.
He announced his administration has spent millions of dollars on anti-drug advertisements sharing the risks of drugs like fentanyl.
The president said he expects fentanyl overdoses to drop by half due to the ads.
I believe that CNN and MSNDC, who literally write 97.6% bad about me, are political arms of the Democrat Party. And in my opinion, they are really corrupt and they are illegal. What they do is illegal.”
President Donald Trump
“President Trump will visit the Department of Justice to give remarks on restoring law and order, removing violent criminals from our communities, and ending the weaponization of justice against Americans for their political leanings,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said ahead of the speech.
As Trump arrived to give remarks in Washington DC on Friday afternoon, Attorney General Pam Bondi pointed out his presidential portrait hanging in the Justice Department’s Great Hall.
He stopped in his tracks to make a self-deprecating joke.
“Oh wow, he looks like such a nice person,” Trump mused.
“That’s a rough picture. That’s a rough picture.”
Bondi kicked off the remarks by saying Trump is taking “decisive action” to fight the fentanyl crisis in the US.
