By Rachel Mealey: Well, the historic verdict is reverberating around the US and the world, with Americans intensely divided over whether Donald Trump’s a criminal or a victim, Nell Whitehead reports.
Nell Whitehead: As the jury handed down its verdict, New Yorkers were divided. Some gathered to celebrate, as Donald Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Crowd Member 1: I don’t know what to say. I did not think that this was actually going to happen and I’m just, I can’t believe it. It’s about time he was held accountable for something. I can’t believe it.
Nell Whitehead: But Trump’s supporters also rallied outside the court.
Crowd Member 2: Lady Justice is not only blind, she’s also dark. Wicked dark!
Nell Whitehead: Echoing the former president’s claim that he’s the victim of a witch hunt.
Crowd Member 3: I feel very sad for America because this is the man who is fighting for America. He tried to save America. This is the very lefty, far left state.
Nell Whitehead: Donald Trump is the first US president to be convicted of a felony. A jury of 12 New Yorkers unanimously found him guilty of breaking election law by covering up payments to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, to avoid a sex scandal during his 2016 presidential campaign. Scott Jennings is a former Republican strategist and a CNN political commentator. He says the decision will again highlight the nation’s deep divisions.
Scott Jennings: Well it is historically significant and if you’re a Republican and a Trump supporter, you would say, you know, never before has the criminal justice system abused in this way for partisan political ends. And if you’re a Democrat or a Biden supporter, you might say, you know, after all this time, somebody finally brought Donald Trump to justice and he’s getting away with so much, but he didn’t get away with this. And so the country is so divided. We’re not going to have a consensus about whether it was good or bad, but I do think we have a consensus about the historic nature of it.
Nell Whitehead: Rick Wilson is another Republican political strategist. He calls the result a victory for America’s justice system.
Rick Wilson: And so I think what we have here is a moment where this idea that Donald Trump was invincible, this idea that Donald Trump could never be held to account, has now been put in the rearview mirror. He is a felon. He is a criminal. He has been found guilty of 34 charges. He can no longer vote in the United States. He can no longer own a gun in the United States. He can no longer travel freely in the United States. This is a man who has been found guilty.
Nell Whitehead: Donald Trump will be sentenced on July the 11th, days before he’s due to be confirmed as the Republicans 2024 presidential candidate. Richard Painter is a former White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush.
Richard Painter: Republican Party has a big decision to make here. I didn’t know that he won a lot of the primaries and has a lot of the delegates, but I think that he’d be very unlikely to be elected. Many voters who are not diehard Republicans would be unwilling to vote for a convicted felon to be president of the United States.
Nell Whitehead: Leaders around the world are watching closely. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Australia’s alliance with America will endure even if it elects a convicted felon.
Anthony Albanese: I’m certainly not worried about our relationship with the United States because it’s a relationship between our peoples based upon our shared values of democratic principles. And of course, leaders of countries have come and gone, but the relationship has been very strong.
Nell Whitehead: Opposition leader Peter Dutton told Channel 9 he thinks the verdict may galvanise Trump’s campaign.
Peter Dutton : If you look back to 2016, he won no electoral votes. In New York, he’s despised there. There’s obviously two tribes here and all it will do is reinforce the views on both of those camps.
Nell Whitehead: In a statement, President Joe Biden’s campaign spokesman said Trump’s conviction shows that no one is above the law.
Rachel Mealey: Nell Whitehead.
