(Bloomberg) -- Former President Donald Trump vowed he would appeal the $364 million fine imposed by a New York judge over his business practices and railed against his mounting legal woes as he rallied supporters in the crucial 2024 battleground state of Michigan.

“These people, they’re not looking for justice,” Trump said at a rally Saturday in Waterford Township. “They only care about how to stop crooked Joe Biden’s political opponent that’s me and how to inflict as much pain as possible.”

Trump’s third consecutive presidential bid has been mired in a slew of expensive civil and criminal legal battles that have thrown his fortune — and freedom — into jeopardy. But the former president has so far successfully rallied Republican primary voters behind his candidacy in the aftermath of a string of judgments and indictments. 

Trump and his real estate company were ordered on Friday to pay a penalty of $364 million plus interest and the former president was barred from running any business in the state for three years for a suit over inflated asset valuations. Last month, a New York jury said Trump must pay writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million for defaming her. 

On Saturday, Trump painted his predicament as evidence that Democrats were seeking to benefit Biden, the sitting president — without providing specific evidence for his sweeping accusations of a corrupt judicial system spanning multiple states and jurisdictions.

“Not one case was ever brought like this in the history of New York State,” Trump said. “This is the only one. I wonder if they were doing that for political purposes or for election interference.”

Even as he appeals both cases, the judgments are expected to strain Trump’s personal resources as his campaign ramps up — and his legal challenges intensify. Trump spent $51.2 million in 2023 on legal expenses, and can tap another $23.5 million, most of it stashed in an allied super political action committee that he can use to pay his lawyers. But costs are only expected to grow in the coming months as his four separate criminal trials proceed.

Earlier: Trump Legal Fees Threaten to Cause Cash Crunch by July 

Trump estimated on Saturday he lost some $2 billion due to his political career.

“I didn’t think it would be this much, but I knew I would lose a billion, two billion dollars, if I was honest, running for president and being president,” he said. “And that’s what I lost.”

In the Republican race, Trump faces only one remaining major challenger, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, and is seeking to end the contest in March, when a number of states including Michigan hold primaries. 

But the GOP frontrunner has also been looking ahead to a likely general-election rematch against Biden, hammering his expected rival over economic policies that have faced skepticism from blue-collar and rank-and-file union members in states such as Michigan. 

The president has sought to court blue-collar workers, among whom Trump enjoys solid support, and visited Michigan earlier this month, touting the endorsement of the United Auto Workers union and highlighting the gains for organized labor under his administration.

But even with the support of union leaders, Biden faces a tougher path with labor’s rank-and-file who question his policies, including efforts to transition to electric vehicles. 

“A vote for Biden is a vote to send tens of thousands of Michigan jobs to China and other places that we don’t want them to go,” Trump said. “A vote for Trump is about to keep those manufacturing jobs in America and add a lot of jobs.”

--With assistance from Justin Sink and Virginia Van Natta.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.