The founder of Home Depot is pledging to support Donald Trump even if he is convicted of a crime.

The strong endorsement from billionaire Bernie Marcus is a testament to Trump's building momentum ahead of the 2024 election.

Marcus has already made it clear that he thinks Trump is the best option for defeating Joe Biden - and he won't be deterred from supporting Trump by "trumped up" charges, he told Reuters. 

Trump wins big endorsement

Of course, Marcus isn't the only American who thinks the charges against Trump are political. Despite facing four criminal cases, Trump has been leading Biden in general election polls.

The latest RealClearPolitics average has Trump nearly 2 points ahead. Trump's dominance in the Republican primary has left many to see Trump as the inevitable nominee.

In an op-ed earlier this month, Marcus urged the Republican party to cancel the "embarrassing" and "unproductive" primary debates and focus on helping Trump, whom Marcus described as the best qualified to defeat Biden and turn the country around.

Trump's court battles are expected to tie up his presidential campaign, with the first trial set to begin just one day before Super Tuesday in March.

"The best president"

Marcus told Reuters that he talked to Trump recently and never brought up his legal battles. Trump was "very happy" for the support, he said.

"I never discussed his legal fees or his legal problems," he said.

At the same time, Marcus sought to downplay his support: "Of course, I'm going to support him to some extent, but I'm not one of his big givers, that's for sure," Marcus said.

Marcus had words of praise for Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, but he said he doesn't see a viable path to victory for either in the primary.

In a separate interview with ABC, Marcus said Biden has placed the nation "in peril" like never before.

Marcus - who backed Trump in 2016 and 2020 - said he is not "happy" that Trump is the likely nominee, but he will do everything he can to make sure he wins.

"I'm supporting Donald Trump because he has the experience, he has the policies," Marcus said. "And if it wasn't for his personality, he would probably be the best president we've ever had."