President Donald Trump said Thursday that the ruling by a court to ban French right-wing leader Marine Le Pen from running for office was part of a “witch hunt” to keep her out of power.
In a Truth Social post, Trump compared the ruling against Le Pen to the Russian collusion investigation that marred much of his first term in office. A court this week ruled that Le Pen and other members of the National Rally Party were guilty of embezzlement and banned the populist political figure from seeking office for five years.
“The Witch Hunt against Marine Le Pen is another example of European Leftists using Lawfare to silence Free Speech, and censor their Political Opponent, this time going so far as to put that Opponent in prison,” Trump posted before referencing the discredited Trump-Russian narrative.
“It is the same ‘playbook’ that was used against me by a group of Lunatics and Losers, like Norm Eisen, Andrew Weissmann, and Lisa Monaco. They spent the last nine years thinking of nothing else, and they FAILED, because the People of the United States realized that they were only Corrupt Lawyers and Politicians,” Trump said.
Trump added that he didn’t know Le Pen, but appreciated “how hard she worked for so many years.”
“She suffered losses, but kept on going, and now, just before what would be a Big Victory, they get her on a minor charge that she probably knew nothing about – Sounds like a ‘bookkeeping’ error to me,” Trump said. “It is all so bad for France, and the Great French People, no matter what side they are on. FREE MARINE LE PEN!”
Trump’s post was shared on X by his top donor, Elon Musk, who posted, “Free Le Pen!”
Free Le Pen! pic.twitter.com/mtx3ndQ10r
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 4, 2025
Le Pen was convicted over accusations that she took $4.9 million of European Parliament funds designed to aid legislators in the European Parliament to pay party staffers uninvolved in work for the parliament. Her party currently holds a plurality of seats in France’s national assembly but has not been able to put together a coalition government.
In a recent interview, Le Pen, who was a front-runner in the French presidential election, said the ruling against her was politically motivated.
“I think the judges got it wrong,” she said. “I think they chose to ignore all of the explanations that were given because, in the very first hours of this trial, I had understood that the court was biased against us. I did not think the magistrates would go this far against our democratic process and interfere this much with the choice of the French. Let’s be clear: I have been silenced but it’s the voice of millions of French people that have been silenced as we speak tonight.”
Le Pen is speaking Sunday in Paris at a rally called “Let’s Save Democracy!”
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[[{“value”:”
President Donald Trump said Thursday that the ruling by a court to ban French right-wing leader Marine Le Pen from running for office was part of a “witch hunt” to keep her out of power.
In a Truth Social post, Trump compared the ruling against Le Pen to the Russian collusion investigation that marred much of his first term in office. A court this week ruled that Le Pen and other members of the National Rally Party were guilty of embezzlement and banned the populist political figure from seeking office for five years.
“The Witch Hunt against Marine Le Pen is another example of European Leftists using Lawfare to silence Free Speech, and censor their Political Opponent, this time going so far as to put that Opponent in prison,” Trump posted before referencing the discredited Trump-Russian narrative.
“It is the same ‘playbook’ that was used against me by a group of Lunatics and Losers, like Norm Eisen, Andrew Weissmann, and Lisa Monaco. They spent the last nine years thinking of nothing else, and they FAILED, because the People of the United States realized that they were only Corrupt Lawyers and Politicians,” Trump said.
Trump added that he didn’t know Le Pen, but appreciated “how hard she worked for so many years.”
“She suffered losses, but kept on going, and now, just before what would be a Big Victory, they get her on a minor charge that she probably knew nothing about – Sounds like a ‘bookkeeping’ error to me,” Trump said. “It is all so bad for France, and the Great French People, no matter what side they are on. FREE MARINE LE PEN!”
Trump’s post was shared on X by his top donor, Elon Musk, who posted, “Free Le Pen!”
Free Le Pen! pic.twitter.com/mtx3ndQ10r
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 4, 2025
Le Pen was convicted over accusations that she took $4.9 million of European Parliament funds designed to aid legislators in the European Parliament to pay party staffers uninvolved in work for the parliament. Her party currently holds a plurality of seats in France’s national assembly but has not been able to put together a coalition government.
In a recent interview, Le Pen, who was a front-runner in the French presidential election, said the ruling against her was politically motivated.
“I think the judges got it wrong,” she said. “I think they chose to ignore all of the explanations that were given because, in the very first hours of this trial, I had understood that the court was biased against us. I did not think the magistrates would go this far against our democratic process and interfere this much with the choice of the French. Let’s be clear: I have been silenced but it’s the voice of millions of French people that have been silenced as we speak tonight.”
Le Pen is speaking Sunday in Paris at a rally called “Let’s Save Democracy!”
“}]]
