ISTANBUL

US President Donald Trump has voiced support for controversial right-wing French politician Marine Le Pen after she was convicted of embezzlement and prohibited from seeking political office.

On social media, Trump branded Le Pen’s case a “Witch Hunt” – the same phrase he used to condemn numerous investigations and court cases against him – and wrote: “FREE MARINE LE PEN.”

“It is all so bad for France, and the Great French People, no matter what side they are on,” he wrote. He added: "It is the same 'playbook' that was used against me by a group of Lunatics."

A Paris court on Monday barred Le Pen from running for office for five years after she was convicted of misappropriating over €3 million ($3.27 million) in EU funds to pay party staff in France.

The judge overseeing the case called her actions a "serious and lasting attack on democratic rules in Europe, especially France." In addition to the five-year ban, Le Pen was sentenced to four years in prison (two suspended), house arrest, and fined €100,000

Trump said that while he did not know Le Pen, he admired her persistence, saying she "kept on going" despite setbacks. He also called the charge against her a "bookkeeping" error.

Trump’s views fit with those of his top campaign donor, Elon Musk, who criticized Le Pen’s sentence earlier this week on X, stating: "When the radical left can’t win through democratic vote, they misuse the legal system to imprison their opponents."

The Trump administration has also previously criticized attacks on far-right politicians in Europe, including the rerun of Romania’s presidential election due to alleged Russian interference.

Musk has drawn intense criticism from Europe for praising extremist right-wing parties such as Alternative for Germany (AfD) and calling civil war in Britain “inevitable,” among other actions. Musk and US Vice President JD Vance have also supported far-right groups and figures such as the AfD and Tommy Robinson, an Islamophobic British figure.