Donald Trump’s guilty verdict: reactions

AAfter former President Donald Trump was found guilty at his criminal trial in Manhattan on Thursday, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign applauded the unanimous verdict.

The verdict came after a six-week trial that proved Trump covered up secret money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. The 12-person jury found the former president guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records , generating applause and protests from people across the country who watched the decision live. Biden-Harris campaign spokesman Michael Tyler said in a press release after the decision was announced that despite the verdict, “the threat Trump poses to our democracy has never been greater” and urged the public to vote for Biden in the November 2024 elections.

“Today in New York, we see that no one is above the law,” Tyler said. “Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed that he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal 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 polls. Convicted criminal or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president.”

Trump, who has previously called the trial a sham and vowed to appeal the ruling, expressed his outrage on the social media app Truth Social. The former president he said that their “civil rights were totally violated” with the “highly political, unconstitutional and election-interfering witch hunt.”

“This was a disgrace – a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who is corrupt,” he he wrote on the social media platform. “We will fight for our constitution – this is far from over!”

See more information: What will happen if Trump is convicted? Your questions, answered

House Speaker Mike Johnson said on X that Thursday was “a shameful day in American history.”

“Democrats cheered as they convicted the leader of the opposing party on ridiculous charges based on the testimony of a convicted criminal expelled from prison. This was a purely political exercise, not a legal one,” Johnson said. “Weaponizing our judicial system has been a hallmark of the Biden administration, and today’s decision is further proof that Democrats will stop at nothing to silence dissent and crush their political opponents.”

“The American people see this as legal warfare and know it is wrong – and dangerous,” he continued. “President Trump will rightfully appeal this absurd verdict – and he WILL WIN!”

Some Democrats praised the ruling, including California Rep. Eric Swalwell, who called the ruling a victory.

“Donald Trump is a convicted felon,” Swalwell wrote on X. “This verdict is not a victory for any person. It’s a victory for an idea. The idea that we all follow the same rules. The rule of law won today.”

Republican politicians and Trump allies were quick to condemn the verdict, with some calling it “an affront to justice” It is “a caricature of justice”.

“This is a dark day for our country – where the very judicial system that was a hallmark of justice for hundreds of years has been replaced by a two-tier system based on politics!” Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, a Republican, wrote on X. “I have faith that the American people will not tolerate this!”

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the charges against Trump, thanked jurors and the prosecution team during a news conference Thursday night after the verdict was announced.

“While this defendant may be unlike any other in American history, we came to this trial, and ultimately this verdict today, the same way as any other case that passes through the courtroom doors – by following the facts and the law and then doing , without fear or favor,” Bragg said.

“I did my job. We did our job. Lots of voices out there. The only voice that matters is the voice of the jury. And the jury has spoken.

When asked about Trump’s sentencing Bragg said, “I’ll let our words in court speak for themselves when we get to the sentencing…”

Trump supporters crowded outside the Manhattan courthouse and shouted their objections after the verdict was announced.

“There is no justice in this country!” one shouted.

“I’m not guilty!” another shouted.

Meanwhile, anti-Trump protesters gathered outside the courthouse to recount the charges on which Trump was found guilty. Many held signs saying: “”Not above the law” and “Lies have consequences”.

Trump’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 11.