ANALYSIS – Some were shocked and angered by the “guilty on all 34 counts” verdict against Donald Trump by a biased jury, enabled by a biased judge, in a biased kangaroo court in NYC.
Others were jubilant, immediately branding The ex-president a “convicted felon,” though that pejorative term has now lost all meaning in my book.
Still, others see this sham criminal proceeding as a final push helping Trump gain victory in November. One of those people appears to be Donald J. Trump. (RELATED: McConnell Breaks Silence On Trump's Guilty Verdict)
This is the first time in U.S. history that a former president has faced a criminal trial, much less been convicted of multiple felonies. The verdict could upend the 2024 White House race.
Recall that the ridiculous charges were at the New York City level for allegedly falsifying business records to keep a porn performer quiet about an alleged “quickie” with Trump.
The charges were based on a rarely used statute that considers the misdeed simple misdemeanors, not felonies. The statute of limitations had also already expired on them.
So, will it help or hurt the former president?
Trump clearly thinks it will help. During remarks Thursday, former President Trump praised DailyMail.com's poll that found that the guilty verdict in Manhattan only improved Trump's standing with likely voters ahead of the 2024 election. (RELATED: Jim Jordan Hits Back: Subpoena Sent To Manhattan District Attorney's Office After Trump Verdict)
As the outlet reported Trump saying shortly after the verdict was announced:
‘The other thing – a poll came out. The first poll. Maybe others will be bad. But the poll just came out a little while ago [by] the Daily Mail. They have a good poll. I like it today.'
‘…it has Trump up six points in the last 12 hours. Six points since this happened. Who thought this could happen,' said Trump to applause among his supporters gathered at Trump Tower.
‘Because the people of our country know it's a hoax. They know it's a hoax. They get it. They are really smart and it's really something.'
He went on to promise that his team will be ‘appealing this scam.'
Meanwhile, Republican donors appear energized by the verdict.
In the past day, the Trump campaign announced, he raised a record-breaking $34.8 million from small-dollar donors outraged by the conviction. The Republican Senate and Congressional Committees (NRSC and NRCC) also announced their largest single-day fundraising numbers of the cycle. (RELATED: Ex-Democrat Donor Writes $300K Check To Trump Campaign After Verdict)
However, at least one long-time Republican political operative believes the verdict could hurt Trump among independents in key states.
The New York Post reported:
Former George W. Bush campaign strategist Karl Rove argued before the jury decision was announced Thursday that a guilty verdict could cost the 45th president states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — where polls show the former president either narrowly beating President Biden or a virtual tie.
Rove cited RealClearPolitics polling averages showing Trump ahead by 2 percentage points in Michigan, 3 percentage points in Pennsylvania and 0.1% in Wisconsin — along with an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey released Thursday showing 11% of independents across the country saying a guilty verdict would make them less likely to support the presumptive Republican nominee.
Rove added: “So in a close race, like we're likely to have, having 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11% of the electorate less likely to vote for you is a problem.” And this assessment could have some merit.
But Rove is a notorious Trump-hater and still very close to the Bush family which also hates Trump.
The Post noted:
“RINO Rove is wrong, as usual,” a [Trump] rep said, while an operative working for the former president's re-election added: “Karl Rove has hated Trump pretty openly for a while now. He clearly has an ax to grind.”
Republican strategist Dave Wilson also disagreed with Rove, telling the Post:
I think how Trump demonstrates the brokenness of the system, and as voters begin to understand how the flawed judicial case in NYC was rigged, it will become evident that there is a problem that they've been feeling, but can now put their finger on and say, ‘Oh yeah … I knew something was wrong. Now I see it.
The Post added: “One GOP consultant close to Trump was less diplomatic, saying: ‘Karl Rove is an abject moron who hasn't gotten a single thing correct about politics since 2004.'”
Meanwhile, The Spectator had a great take on the verdict:
It's been branded a hush-money trial, but it isn't — it's a business expense categorization trial, claimed as a campaign finance matter. This just doesn't fly. It sounds like a rinky-dink case to the average voter. The [federal] Jack Smith [classified] documents case makes the most sense to people, on a practical level. But this one seems like the weakest attempt to take out Trump because it is. The Hillary Clinton campaign had to pay $113,000 in fines to the Federal Election Commission because they miscategorized their spending on the Steele Dossier — and that was a publicly filed claim with the government, not a behind the scenes accounting spreadsheet.
It is still too hard to tell whether this verdict will ultimately help or hurt Trump. Maybe it does neither, which probably helps him. But let's hope Americans see this sham verdict for what it is and vote for Trump.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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