Donald Trump declared he would not pick any of his Republican rivals as his 2024 running mate during a Wednesday night speech in battleground state of Michigan.
The former president skipped the second GOP debate in California and poked fun at the “job candidates” taking part during his own competing speech at a non-union auto parts factory.
The event also follows a series of legal blows in the multiple criminal and civil cases against him, with a New York judge shutting down his abilities to conduct business in the state after finding that he falsely inflated his wealth and assets as he built his business empire.
A federal judge overseeing a case involving his alleged attempts to overturn 2020 election results also has rejected his attempts to force her to recuse herself.
Following a year-long investigation and $250m lawsuit from the state’s attorney general, Tuesday’s ruling in the New York case found Mr Trump, his adult sons and chief associates provided fraudulent financial statements to lenders and insurers for about a decade to secure deals and financing.
On his Truth Social, Mr Trump claimed his “civil rights have been violated” and slammed what he called “a DERANGED” judge “doing the bidding of a completely biased and corrupt ‘prosecutor’”.
