Trump calls claims he's a threat to democracy a 'hoax,' says Biden is the real threat: 'I will save democracy'

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Former President Trump on Saturday described Democrats' warnings that his potential return to the White House after the 2024 election would be a threat to democracy as a "hoax" and "misinformation," and that President Biden is the "real threat."

Trump predicted in a speech hosted by the New York Young Republican Club that Biden's "Banana Republic" would end following the presidential election in November 2024.

"The radical left Democrats, their fake news allies have unveiled their newest hoax that Donald J. And the Republican Party are a threat to democracy … This is their new line. Here we go again — 'Russia, Russia, Russia,' 'Mueller, Mueller, Mueller,' 'Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine.' One hoax after another," Trump said.

"But no, I’m not a threat. I will save democracy. The threat is Crooked Joe Biden," he continued.

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The former president said claims that he is a threat to democracy are a "hoax" and a "new idea" and that "We call it now the threat to democracy hoax, because that's what it is."

Trump went on to say that Democrats and the media "think the threat to democracy will save Biden from having created the worst inflation in our country's history, a fragile economy that may soon end in a depression like 1929 … We are very, very close to a depression, the likes of which you have never seen. We owe $36 trillion and this guy has no clue."

He also called the threat to democracy claims a "desperate and shameless attempt to distract from the monstrous abuses of power the left is committing before your very eyes."

Biden and other Democrats have said that a second Trump presidency could damage U.S. democracy, as Biden and Trump prepare for a possible rematch of the 2020 election. Biden said at a fundraiser in Los Angeles on Saturday that "the greatest threat Trump poses is to the democracy."

Amid 91 federal counts against Trump from four separate investigations, the former president warned Biden that indicting him could lead to retaliation if he returns to the White House.

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Trump delivered a speech hosted by the New York Young Republican Club on Saturday. (Brandon Bell)

"He's opened up a Pandora’s box that will never let our country be the same. I can only say to Joe: Be very careful what you wish for, but what you have done is a terrible thing," Trump said, adding, "These are Biden indictments against their political opponent."

Trump has recently spoken about imposing "retribution" against political enemies if he returns to the White House after next year's election. He was asked by Fox News host Sean Hannity during a town hall last week if he would ever abuse power as retribution against anybody if elected, to which the former president said, "Except for day one."

"Except for day one. I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill," Trump told Hannity.

During Saturday's speech, Trump accused the media of mischaracterizing his comments to Hannity as him saying he wants to be a dictator.

"I said I want to be a dictator for one day … and you know why I wanted to be a dictator? Because I want a wall … and I want to drill, drill, drill," he said.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump predicted that President Biden's "Banana Republic" would end following the 2024 presidential election. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

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Trump's remarks to Hannity about being a dictator have drawn criticism from press freedom groups, who argued his statement is "anti-democratic." Trump had previously suggested during a 2022 rally that he would jail reporters for not giving up their sources.

"You tell the reporter, 'Who is it' … and if the reporter doesn't want to tell you, it's 'bye bye.' The reporter goes to jail," the former president said at the time.

In concluding his speech on Saturday, Trump predicted he would return to the White House and make America "great again."

"We will throw off the sick political class that hates our country," Trump said. "We will rout the fake news media. We will evict Joe Biden from the White House and we will finish. This job of making our country great again once and for all."