In a landmark legal and political moment, Donald Trump became the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a felony on Thursday.
A grand jury in New York found him guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records, an unprecedented verdict with profound implications for American politics.
The conviction has already sparked a fierce political battle, with the Biden-Harris campaign emphasizing that "no one is above the law," while Trump denounced the verdict as a result of a "rigged political system."
Trump’s Reaction: A claim of political conspiracy
Trump’s sentencing is scheduled for July 11, just days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he is set to be formally nominated as the party’s presidential candidate against incumbent Joe Biden in the November elections.
Reacting to the verdict, Trump lashed out at the legal proceedings, calling it a "disgrace" and a "rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt." He criticised the refusal to change the trial venue, citing his low approval ratings in the district.
“This was a rigged, disgraceful trial,” Trump said shortly after the verdict was read. “They wouldn't give us a venue change. We were at 5 per cent or 6 per cent in this district, in this area. This was a rigged, disgraceful trial.”
Despite the conviction, Trump remains the presumptive presidential nominee of the Republican Party.
He declared that the real verdict would come on November 5th, as voters head to the polls.
Trump portrayed himself as a victim of a politically motivated prosecution by the Biden administration aimed at derailing his candidacy.
“You have a Soros-backed DA, and the whole thing, we didn't do a thing wrong. I'm a very innocent man, and it's okay, I'm fighting for our country. I'm fighting for our Constitution. Our whole country is being rigged right now,” Trump asserted.
He added, “And I think it's just a disgrace. And we'll keep fighting. We'll fight till the end, and we'll win because our country has gone to hell.”
In contrast, the Biden-Harris campaign welcomed the jury’s decision.
Michael Tyler, Communications Director for Biden-Harris 2024, stated, “In New York today, we saw that no one is above the law.”
Tyler criticised Trump’s long-standing belief that he could evade consequences for his actions, emphasizing the need for electoral action to keep Trump out of the Oval Office. “Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his gain. But today’s verdict does not change the fact that the American people face a simple reality. There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box.”
The Biden-Harris campaign also highlighted the potential dangers of a second Trump term. Tyler warned of Trump’s increasingly unhinged campaign and his calls for extreme measures to regain and maintain power. “The threat Trump poses to our democracy has never been greater. He is running an increasingly unhinged campaign of revenge and retribution, pledging to be a dictator ‘on day one’ and calling for our Constitution to be ‘terminated’ so he can regain and keep power.”
Tyler continued, “A second Trump term means chaos, ripping away Americans’ freedoms and fomenting political violence – and the American people will reject it this November.”
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