Rather Than Address Arraignment, Trump Talks ‘Filth’ He Saw in D.C.
“This is not the place that I left,” Trump said.

AMANDA ANDRADE-RHOADES/Reuters
The bulk of Trump’s first comments after being arraigned for an unprecedented third time this year weren’t about his innocence—or even about his case at all. Instead, he complained about how dirty Washington D.C. is now that he isn’t president. “This is a very sad day for America,” Trump said in reference to his indictment. “It was also very sad driving through Washington D.C. and seeing the filth and the decay, and all of the broken buildings and walls and the graffiti. This is not the place that I left.” After the bizarre rant, Trump acknowledged his arraignment, calling it a “persecution” that “was never supposed to happen in America,” before claiming that he’s leading President Joe Biden in polling by “a lot.” He later added on Truth Social: “CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT I HAD TO FLY TO A FILTHY, DIRTY, FALLING APART, & VERY UNSAFE WASHINGTON, D.C., TODAY, & THAT I WAS THEN ARRESTED BY MY POLITICAL OPPONENT, WHO IS LOSING BADLY TO ME IN THE POLLS, CROOKED JOE BIDEN, IT WAS A VERY GOOD DAY!”
Trump's first post-indictment statement is to complain about "seeing the filth and the decay and all of the broken buildings and walls and the graffiti" of D.C., adding "this is not the place that I left." pic.twitter.com/TeNbKvGIEf
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) August 3, 2023
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
