Donald Trump has been charged for making hush money payments to a porn star.
Donald Trump, former US president, attacked his successor Joe Biden saying that the "country is going to hell" hours after being charged over hush money payments to a porn star.
The 76-year-old, who pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts, was addressing his supporters and the media from Mar-a-Lago, his Florida home.
"I never thought anything like this could happen in America -- never thought it could happen," he said, adding "the only crime that I've committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it".
Trump -- the frontrunner in the race for the 2024 Republican nomination -- said from a stage festooned with American flags in an opulent gold-and-cream ballroom that "radical left" prosecutors across the country were out to get him "at any cost."
"We are a nation in decline. And now these radical left lunatics want to interfere with our elections by using law enforcement. We can't let that happen," he said during his 25-minute address.
He described the time since his exit from office as "the most embarrassing time in our country's history." “With all of this being said, and with a very dark cloud over our beloved country, I have no doubt nevertheless, that we will make America great again,” he said in the speech, his first since being arraigned on Tuesday.
During his speech, Trump also listed several of his grievances against the current administration.
"While we are living through the darkest hours of American history, I can say that at least for this moment right now, I am in great spirits," he said.
"Our country is going to hell. The world is already laughing at us - for our open borders and the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan," the Republican leader added.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg alleged that Trump engaged in a two-year scheme to boost his 2016 presidential campaign by suppressing negative information and falsifying business records of his company to cover his tracks.
Trump faces a separate criminal probe by a county prosecutor in Georgia into whether he unlawfully tried to overturn his 2020 election defeat in the state. He also faces two US Justice Department investigations led by a special counsel into attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and his handling of classified documents after leaving office.
(with agency inputs)