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Former President Donald Trump, 77, has been found guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying business records, becoming the first US president to become a felon this Thursday. Even so, there’s still nothing in the US Constitution preventing him from making another run for office.
Trump has served one term as US President from 2016 to 2020, during which he was also impeached twice and lost his reelection to President Joe Biden.
The frenzy surrounding Trump’s trial, held in Manhattan has captivated the nation for the last year. Every moment was historic, from the perp walk to the guilty verdict. The trial centered around Trump snuffing out the illicit relationship he had with adult film star Stephanie Clifford aka Stormy Daniels with hush money ahead of the 2016 presidential election. It took a jury of 12 New Yorkers two days to deliberate on the charges and return with a guilty verdict.
“I did my job,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg at a press conference after the trial wrapped. “Our job is to follow the facts and the law without fear or favor.”
Trump’s sentencing hasn’t happened yet but the looming question on the horizon is how this verdict will affect his and Biden’s chances in the 2024 presidential election in November.
“There’s nothing in the Constitution that says you can’t be a candidate,” said election law attorney Sarah K. Steiner. “The Constitution was written 200 and something years ago [when] only a few people qualified to be president,” said Steiner. “All you had to be a white man born in this country over the age of 21-years-old.”
Trump has been indicted in three other felony cases but has never been convicted until now. He also has numerous civil cases open, including one led by New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
Though there were provisions built in about impeachment and removal in the Constitution to avoid America becoming a tyrannical monarchy, ‘the founding fathers’ likely didn’t conceive of the current scenario where an elected president could be incarcerated, said Steiner.
There’s only been one other person in US history that ran for president as a candidate while in prison–Socialist Party leader Eugene Debs in 1895. The precedent didn’t inspire any movement to amend the Constitution either through ratification by states or convention, said Steiner.
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That doesn’t stop voters from hanging Trump in the gallows of public opinion.
Michael Sozan, senior fellow for democracy policy at Center for American Progress Action Fund, said the verdict certainly has the potential to sway voters outside of Trump’s base.
“A broad swath of Americans indeed care about this trial and its result, and they see the crimes Trump is charged with as serious crimes,” said Sozan. “Many Americans may not end up supporting a presidential candidate who is convicted of crimes and there’s some polling that’s shown that already. I predict that it will play a large role in the minds of many voters.”
Plenty of electeds and political figures are certainly rejoicing over the guilty verdict, hailing it as a long overdue moment of justice. While some are weary that the trial will launch even more MAGA Republicans into action.
“Today, a jury of 12 New Yorkers registered their verdict. Our criminal justice process must be respected,” said Mayor Eric Adams in a statement. “As we await the next steps, New Yorkers should rest assured that the NYPD stands ready to respond to any and all circ*mstances, including large-scale protests. While peaceful protests and assembly will always be protected, we will not be a city of any form of lawlessness.”
Rev. Al Sharpton, the Founder and President of the National Action Network (NAN) in a statement speaking about the Exonerated Five, “I couldn’t help but think throughout this trial of Donald Trump sitting through days of testimony in Manhattan Criminal Court. This is the same building that Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise all passed into, day after day, as they endured a show trial for a crime they did not commit.”
“These children had to hear vitriol from people whose anger was incited by a man who spent a small fortune on full-page ads calling for their execution. Now the shoe is on the other foot. Donald Trump is the criminal, and those five men are exonerated. I’m reminded of Dr. King’s proverb that the arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice,” he continued.
Sharpton said that it’s crucial to move away from the hate speech and incessant media coverage of Trump moving into the election though.
“We cannot allow it to be guided by sore winners who gloat over this conviction, when it only stands to ignite the Donald Trumps all over this nation who still want to take us back to the pre-1964 era,” said Sharpton. “Cheering this conviction with malice will only empower those who committed violence on January 6th to do it on May 31st. Instead, celebrate by casting votes for leaders who will protect democracy – not who want to kill it.”
Former National NAACP President Dr Hazel N. Dukes desperately hopes that the verdict will influence the presidential election.
“Not on Trump, the people supporting him are extremists and racists because that’s who he is,” said Dukes, “but people who have been in the middle now know it’s the truth. Their peers sat and listened and heard. They wanted to be sure they were right.”
Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.
