President Joe Biden on Friday defended the conviction of former President Donald Trump and claimed it was “reckless” for his gagged political opponent to call it “rigged.”

Trump called the trial a “scam” and vowed to appeal the guilty verdict.

About two hours after Trump spoke, Biden directly mentioned Trump by name in a carefully crafted press conference. “The American principle that no one is above the law was reaffirmed,” Biden claimed. “Donald Trump was given every opportunity to defend himself.”

“The jury heard five weeks of evidence, five weeks. After careful deliberation, the jury reached a unanimous verdict,” Biden said, speaking slowly. “They found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts.

“It's reckless. It's dangerous. It's irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don't like the verdict,” Biden said about his gagged political opponent.

Biden: “It is reckless, dangerous, and irresponsible to say that the [Trump trial] was rigged.” pic.twitter.com/4ScJXPlAU5

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) May 31, 2024

“The justice system should be respected, and we should never allow anyone to tear it down. It's as simple as that. That's America. That's who we are. That's who we'll always be, God willing,” Biden claimed.

Trump’s campaign raised $34.8 million from small-dollar donors after a Manhattan jury found him guilty on Thursday, the Trump campaign announced Friday morning. Small-dollar donations are significant because donors can give again and again.

Joe Biden is asked a question about Donald Trump being a political prisoner by his government.

He grins for a few seconds before walking out of the room without saying anything. pic.twitter.com/00ttZKSMBZ

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) May 31, 2024

“This can’t be allowed to happen to other presidents; it should never be allowed to happen in the future,” Trump said Friday. “But this is far beyond me. This is bigger than Trump. This is bigger than me.”

“Make America great again,” Trump said. “Remember November 5.”

Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former GOP War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.