This year has seen former President Donald Trump inundated with legal battles, including four criminal prosecutions and a civil fraud lawsuit.

Trump recently told a crowd of supporters that those court cases have had a significant impact on his finances. 

Former president says political career has cost him "a couple billion"

According to The Hill, the former president's remarks were made this past weekend during a rally held in Sioux City, Iowa.

Trump says he has $100 million in legal fees amid cascade of court battles https://t.co/dg40SOPJT1 pic.twitter.com/tCAvOekiQT

— The Hill (@thehill) October 30, 2023

"It’s cost me a couple of billion dollars to be a politician. Everyone else makes, they make [money]," Trump was quoted as saying.

"I said, 'No, we can’t do that.' I could have made a fortune. The countries are coming [and saying,] 'We’d like to build a job and we’d like to have you involved.' Billions," he continued.

"I say, I tell my kids, 'Sorry, kids, we can’t do it. I’m president.' I respected the office," the former president went on to declare.

Trump: "I have $100 million worth of legal fees"

Trump then shifted to discussing the cost of defending himself in court, saying, "And of course, then they made it much worse with legal fees."

"I have $100 million worth of legal fees," the Republican frontrunner complained. "And they’re doing good. At least I have good lawyers, because you can spend $100 million and have lousy lawyers too. It happens."

In addition to legal fees, Trump has also had to shell out funds after being fined by New York Judge Arthur Engoron for alleged violations of his gag order.

Fox News reported that Trump was fined $10,000 last Wednesday over comments the former president made at a press conference.

Trump fined for violating gag order

At issue were remarks he made about "a person who’s very partisan sitting alongside," a figure Engoron took to be his court clerk, someone the judge described as being "very close to me."

Trump insisted that the person in question was Michael Cohen, his former lawyer who testified against him, Engoron declared that Trump's explanation was "not credible."

That came just days after Engoron imposed a $5,000 fine over a separate alleged gag order violation, with NBC News reporting that the judge became "livid" after it emerged that a post Trump had deleted from Truth Social continued to be visible on his campaign website.

While one of Trump's attorneys apologized and explained that the alleged violation stemmed from a "truly inadvertent" oversight, Engoron responded by threatening the former president with jail time.