Donald Trump, a former president, compares himself to Nelson Mandela upon his registering for the New Hampshire primary

 Donald Trump, a former president, compares himself to Nelson Mandela upon his registering for the New Hampshire primary

What do Nelson Mandela and former US President Donald Trump have in common? When compared to the Republican president, the anti-apartheid legend may seem like an odd candidate, but as Trump pointed out on Monday, they both had a duty to preserve the nation. Similar to the former president, both leaders had been "victims of federal and state prosecutors" and were on the verge of being imprisoned. 

"Since I'm playing the role of Nelson Mandela for a good cause, I don't mind. We must defend our nation against the Nazis and lunatics we are now dealing with. At a sports center in Derry, Trump addressed an energised gathering of fans, saying, "They're nasty people and they're ruining our nation.

The Republican leader made the comments shortly after registering for the New Hampshire presidential primary. 

The majority of Trump's sometimes vulgar speech was devoted to the many legal and criminal accusations leveled against him. It also included a tirade against President Joe Biden's handling of the Hamas assault on Israel. At one point, he even offered that he serve time in jail similar to the previous president of South Africa, who won the Nobel Peace Prize while serving 27 years in prison for his opposition to the country's apartheid regime.

With regard to charges that he overstated his net worth, misclassified hush money payments to women during his 2016 campaign, sought to fraudulently reverse his defeat in the 2020 election, and hoarded classified materials at his Mar-a-Lago club, Trump is now facing four criminal indictments in addition to civil trials.

The remarks followed Trump's official filing for the first-in-the-nation primary, making him the only president to do it in person more than once.