Donald Trump Sends Early New Year's Message to Joe Biden

Former president Donald Trump has hit out at current White House incumbent President Joe Biden in a scathing early New Year's message.

Trump repeated his unproven claim that the 2020 presidential election was somehow stolen by the Democrats in a December 30 post shared on his social media platform Truth Social.

The clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination also branded Biden "crooked," a moniker he gave to his former Democratic rival Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election.

Trump's comments came as his chances of beating Biden in a hypothetical rematch have improved since last year as inflation and ongoing border issues continue to negatively affect the president's approval ratings.

"As the New Year fast approaches, I would like to wish an early New Year's salutation to crooked Joe Biden and his group of radical left misfits and thugs on their never-ending attempt to destroy our nation through lawfare, invasion and rigging elections," Trump said in the post.

"They are now scrambling to sign up as many of those millions of people they are illegally allowing into sour (sic) country, in order that they will be ready to vote in the presidential election of 2024."

Since being shared, the post has attracted approximately 6,540 retruths (similar to retweets) and 19,700 likes.

Newsweek has contacted the White House and Trump's media team for comment via email.

Biden finished 2023 with an approval rating of 39 percent, a slight uptick from the 37 percent he had in October and November, but it remains the worst of any modern-day president, according to data from Gallup. Trump had an approval rating of 45 percent in 2019.

The former president has also enjoyed some victories this year, including his reinstatement on X, formerly Twitter, after owner Elon Musk reversed a previous decision to ban him from the site following the riot at the Capitol building on January 6, 2021.

However, Trump has also experienced a tumultuous year, being the subject of several lawsuits and criminal charges.

In March, he was indicted on 34 felony counts related to an alleged hush-money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 election.

The former president also faces three more indictments, two federal and one from Fulton County, Georgia. Trump was indicted in June over the alleged mishandling of classified documents and another in August on charges that he attempted to overturn the 2020 election. He has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Despite Trump's legal issues, he continues to dominate the race to secure the Republican nomination and remains far ahead of his closest rivals.