NEW YORK — A sudden and decisive verdict in the secret trial of former President Donald Trump on Thursday prompted the media to reflect simultaneously on the scope of the story and the most polarizing figure in modern American politics.
Broadcast networks ABC, CBS and NBC suspended regular programming to bring the news shortly after 5 p.m. ET. The New York Times and The Washington Post published identical headlines on their websites: “Trump Guilty on All Charges.”
“The former president is a convicted felon,” said CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell, “but that doesn’t stop him from running for another term in the White House.”
The website Drudge Report repeated the word “guilty” 34 times in red letters under a photo of Trump sitting in court earlier in the day.
The announcement came as news organizations prepared to end a second day of waiting for jury deliberations without any conclusions. They quickly came to blows when Judge Juan Merchan, instead of saying court was closed until Friday, said there was a verdict that would be announced in half an hour.
Once the jury met in a Manhattan courtroom, with no cameras allowed, the news quickly broke – the jury foreman declared Trump “guilty” 34 times, on all counts.
“This sudden change late today must have been very disturbing for the former president,” said ABC News anchor David Muir.
Courtroom observers watched Trump carefully for signs of a reaction, and one noticed him subtly shaking his head and then watching with little movement as all the counts were read. Trump later told the waiting media that the “rigged” trial was a disgrace and that Americans will give their final verdict on him on Election Day in November.
“He’s now a different kind of figure in history than he was half an hour ago,” said MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, “and yet he says the same thing.”
Trump-supporting media organizations mixed disdain with anger. Fox News analyst Andy McCarthy, whose words were frequently quoted by Trump most days when he spoke after the trial, predicted the guilty verdict moments before it was released. But he later said it was inconceivable that anyone else in New York state would be treated this way.
McCarthy said the case will be appealed, “and I hope there is more justice and fairness than there was at trial.”
On the conservative channel Newsmax, analyst Mehek Cooke said the verdict was a sham and indicated that “if you disagree with this administration, if you disagree with Joe Biden, they will come after you.”
Said Cooke: “Be very afraid.”
The website Fox.com titled its main story: “Trump blasts ‘rigged and shameful’ trial after being found guilty.” Breitbart.com called it an “election interference trial,” while Redstate.com criticized the “completely disgusting statement” made by President Joe Biden’s campaign in response to the verdict.
On liberal MSNBC, Ari Melber said that “the system worked…not because of the outcome, but because of the process.” Analyst Neal Katyal urged viewers who were pleased with the verdict not to “pop the champagne corks just yet” because the Trump campaign will likely go up against the legal system.
Various media outlets mixed reporting with experts, mainly through on-screen messages displayed by companies such as CNN and CBS. A CNN message reported that not a single juror looked at Trump as they left the courtroom after delivering the verdict.
It is not yet known how the case will affect the dynamics of the presidential race. Trump’s sentencing is scheduled for July 11, just days before he is set to be nominated as the Republican presidential nominee for the third time in a row.
Before the verdict, TV news networks remained on the case almost exclusively while awaiting news. Since the case began in mid-April, Fox News Channel’s daytime viewers are up 15% over last year; in the same period, MSNBC is up 17% and CNN is up 19%, according to the Nielsen company. This explains any reluctance to step away.
This meant hours of speculation and opinion. The phrase “tea leaves” – a clichéd reference to predicting the outcome of an event based on signals that may or may not mean something – was heard more times than it was on the Bigelow factory floor.
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David Bauder writes about media for the Associated Press. Follow him on
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