The former president drew parallels between Le Pen’s trial in France and his own legal challenges in the US.
Donald Trump has stated that the legal prosecution of Marine Le Pen, the French opposition leader, is reminiscent of his own legal battles under the current US administration.
Le Pen, formerly the leader of the National Rally (RN) party, received a four-year prison sentence on Monday, with two years suspended, and a five-year ban from holding public office. The embezzlement conviction could prevent her from running in the 2027 presidential election.
When reporters questioned Trump about the verdict in the Oval Office, he responded, “That’s a very big deal.”
“I know all about it, and a lot of people thought she wasn’t going to be convicted of anything,” Trump said.
“But she was banned [from] running for five years, and she’s the leading candidate. That sounds very much like this country,” he added.
Trump has frequently asserted that the investigations and court cases against him are politically motivated and constitute a “witch hunt” orchestrated by the Biden administration and the Democrats.
US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce previously commented that Le Pen’s prosecution was “particularly concerning, given the aggressive and corrupt lawfare waged against President Trump here in the United States.”
Prosecutors alleged that Le Pen misappropriated EU funds allocated for her staff’s work in the European Parliament to support her party’s activities in France. She denied any wrongdoing, calling the verdict “a fatal day for our democracy.”
Le Pen’s party currently holds the most seats in the National Assembly. A recent Ifop poll, published in Le Journal du Dimanche, indicated that between 34% and 37% of respondents intended to vote for Le Pen in 2027, putting her more than 10 points ahead of her closest competitor, former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe. Le Pen has run for president three times, finishing second in both 2017 and 2022.