


President Biden jokingly dismissed claims by former President Donald Trump that he’s pulling the strings in the criminal cases against his political rival.
“I didn’t know I was that powerful,” Mr. Biden told reporters Friday as he was exiting an event to honor the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory.
The president also shrugged off Mr. Trump’s claims the prosecution will boomerang on Democrats and, in particular, Mr. Biden, who could one day find themselves in a courtroom.
“I didn’t do anything wrong. The system still works,” he said.
Mr. Biden said he “had no idea” if the criminal charges would help Mr. Trump in the upcoming election. Since a New York jury found Mr. Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records, he has shot up in some polls and has raised roughly $40 million in campaign donations.
Earlier, Mr. Trump said the criminal charges and guilty verdict were “all done by Biden and his people.”
Mr. Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, later clarified, while taking a shot at the president’s cognitive abilities.
“Maybe just his people. I don’t know if Biden knows much about it,” the former president said.
Mr. Trump also warned, “If they can do this to me, they can do this to anyone.”
While the Biden campaign has used the Trump trial to rally support for the president, the White House has avoided commenting. Officials fear that any comment would invite accusations Mr. Biden is putting his thumb on the scales to hurt his political opponent.
Mr. Biden and his campaign have made a few tongue-in-cheek references to the legal battles of Mr. Trump. For example, Mr. Biden recently joked that Mr. Trump was “free on Wednesdays,” a reference to the days the former president did not have to be in court.
Now that the trial is over, Mr. Biden has unloaded on his 2024 rival.
During brief remarks about a potential ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas terrorists, the president said Mr. Trump was “reckless” and “dangerous” for claiming that his felony conviction was politically motivated.
“It’s irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they didn’t like the verdict. Our justice system should be respected and we should never allow anyone to tear it down. It’s as simple as that,” Mr. Biden said in remarks at the White House.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.