- Donald Trump is criticizing the first-ever criminal conviction of a former president, nine years after he launched an unlikely presidential campaign at Trump Tower. He entered a lobby full of reporters and television cameras on Thursday following the jury’s decision in his hush-money case, which found him guilty on all 34 charges. “The leading person” in the presidential election, according to Trump, who leads President Biden in most surveys, bemoaned being “under a gag order.” He said that “Biden and his people” were behind the lawsuit and referred to the trial as “very unfair.” There is no proof that the decision to prosecute Trump in the case was made by New York prosecutors with the involvement of the Biden administration. According to Trump, “we’re going to be appealing this scam.”
- Numerous TV teams gathered with scores of onlookers on Fifth Avenue, across the street from Trump Tower. A Trump fan unfurled a massive banner that said, “Trump or death,” while someone scrawled in chalk on the pavement, “No one is above the law,” with the words “except Bidens” written underneath in a different color. From “terrorists” at the border, electric automobiles, and illegal immigration, Trump wandered off topic to discuss the legitimacy of hush-money payments and his reaction to the riots by his fans at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. He continued his criticism of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whom he has frequently characterized as biased and driven by politics, and Justice Juan Merchan, the trial’s judge.
- Months of divisive rhetoric and allegations of a politically motivated trial by the former president have made the Trump-Biden contest a hot topic. These factors have also caused a spike in donations. Republicans have taken to the ruling as a rallying call, with their party uniting around Trump to an even greater extent than previously. According to the Trump campaign, $34.8 million was raised online—nearly twice as much as the previous record for modest contributions.
- The scene on Friday brought back memories of Trump’s declaration in 2015, when most people wrote him off as a cartoon. But Trump made his breakthrough by tapping into the mounting dissatisfaction of common Americans with traditional politicians and their broken promises. Years later, Trump has transformed the Republican Party in his image, and the public is accustomed to the ongoing turmoil.
- Trump’s sentence is set on July 11; he will undoubtedly fight the case. The first debate between Trump and Biden is scheduled for June 27, two weeks prior, and will give both candidates a chance to speak to those who may not have been paying close attention. Trump will attend the GOP convention in the middle of July and will have selected his running partner before then. Now that the trial is done, his assistants want to put further pressure on him.
- Following Thursday’s verdict, Republicans have united behind Trump. House Speaker Mike Johnson described it as “a shameful day in American history,” Republican candidate for the Senate from Arizona Kari Lake called it a “egregious example of election interference and an outright mockery of the rule of law,” and Pennsylvania Representative Brendan Boyle, a Democrat, said Trump belongs in prison, not the White House.
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent candidate challenging Trump and Biden, also criticized the decision. A tiny proportion of GOP supporters may reconsider backing Trump if he is found guilty, according to some surveys. That can be an issue in a close contest. According to a survey conducted on Thursday by NPR, PBS NewsHour, and Marist, 67% of respondents said a guilty conviction would not affect their vote, while 17% said it would make them less inclined to support Trump.
- Outside of Trump Tower, views were mixed. Joe Palau, a construction worker from Brooklyn, said that the verdict energized Trump support, while anti-Trump protesters sang, “No one is above the law. Trump is not above the law.” Michael Handy, 79, of Manhattan, expressed concern that the verdict would rev up Trump’s base, but he was more concerned about what could happen to our democracy.
Source:
The Wall Street Journal
