A campaign season like no other.
Former President Donald Trump walks to make comments to members of the media after a jury convicted him of felony crimes for falsifying business records in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election, at Manhattan Criminal Court, Thursday, May 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool)
History was made in a Manhattan courtroom last week. Jurors found a former U.S. president guilty on 34 felony counts in an arcane case involving business record keeping and campaign finance laws. The case marked the first time a former U.S. president has been convicted of a crime.
Many legal experts – including experts whose political leanings are in opposition to those of Donald Trump – expect the convictions to be overturned on appeal. But the appellate process is lengthy, and no decision is expected until well after the November 5 election.
Reaction to Trump’s conviction predictably broke along party lines. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said this on NBC’s Meet the Press this past Sunday:
This is America. We are not a system that is occupied by a monarch or a king or a dictator. We are a democracy, and in a democracy, no one is above the law.”
Appearing with Laura Ingraham last night on the FOX News Channel, Republican Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri said this:
On full display to the world now, two tiers of justice. One for the chief political rival, President Trump – they want to put him away for the rest of his life – versus the sweetheart deal for their son. This is now not just about the election, about two men, Laura. This is about a cause and whether or not we’re going to be a constitutional republic or a banana republic.”
The guilty verdicts appear to have had one significant positive impact on the Trump campaign. Money. An avalanche of money. FOX News Radio’s Madison Alworth reports:
The campaign saying that much of that money came in to support the former president as he faced a trial in which he ultimately was found guilty. Now that big push coming after that decision. During the 24 hours following the guilty verdict, the campaign raised $53 million. That was from Thursday to Friday. For the entire month of May, 25% of the donors came from first time donations. Now, it’s important to note that those numbers do not include this past Saturday and Sunday in the aftermath of the conviction, because those two days, they’re going to be counted in June. So, the full amount raised following this guilty verdict, it’s still unknown for President Trump.”
What remains to be seen is the impact of the conviction on Trump’s polling numbers. The current Real Clear Politics average of polls has Trump leading in all seven of the battleground states that include Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Nevada. In four of those states, his lead exceeds the average margin of error. Trump will only need to win one of the three states that are within the margin of error. Biden will need to win all three. But those poll numbers pre-date the conviction. All eyes will be on polling data that will start coming in next week.
Back in August 2023 when we started reporting on Decision 2024 we promised you a campaign season like no other. We’re clearly delivering on that promise.
