Former President Donald Trump has vowed to stay in the race for the Oval Office even after being indicted for allegedly mishandling classified documents. As previously reported, a 2022 raid of his Mar-a-Lago estate resulted in the FBI finding more than 100 government documents.

On Friday (June 9), a Florida grand jury indicted him on 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information as well as a single count for the following offenses: conspiracy to obstruct justice; withholding a document or record; corruptly concealing a document or record; concealing a document in a federal investigation; scheme to conceal; and false statements and representations. He denies any wrongdoing.

Ahead of his Tuesday (June 13) court appearance, Trump told Politico, “I’ll never leave. Look, if I would have left, I would have left prior to the original race in 2016. That was a rough one. In theory, that was not doable.” On Saturday (June 10), he was on the campaign trail with stops in Georgia and North Carolina, where he implored his legion of supporters to stand up to the Democratic Party and its “lawless prosecutors.” His remarks included, “I’ve put everything on the line, and I will never yield. I will never be detained. I will never stop fighting for you,” according to The Guardian.

“Now the Marxist left is once again using the same corrupt DOJ (Department of Justice) and the same corrupt FBI and the attorney general and the local district attorneys to interfere … They’re cheating. They’re crooked. They’re corrupt. These criminals cannot be rewarded. They must be defeated. You have to defeat them,” continued to businessman-turned-politician. “Because in the end, they’re not coming after me. They’re coming after you, and I’m just standing in their way.”

In March, the 45th president of the United States was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury in connection with claims that he made multiple hush payments to former adult film star Stormy Daniels. The alleged controversy, which includes claims of misused campaign finances, dates back to his 2016 run against Hillary Clinton. Much like his stance against the classified documents ordeal, Trump has remained steadfast in declaring his innocence.

Last November, “The Apprentice” personality announced his bid for reelection after a failed campaign against then-former Vice President Joe Biden in 2020. Similar to his present-day mountain of legal woes, he was undeterred by a probe into his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection following his defeat. Some of the more prominent GOP figures who have announced their bid for the presidency include former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Biden formally announced his run for reelection in April.