05/31/2024 – 18:36
President says the verdict proves that “no one is above the law”. Research indicates a slight drop in support for the Republican, but with the potential to influence the outcome of the elections in the event of a close dispute. The President of the United States, Joe Biden, accused this Friday (31/05) his predecessor, Donald Trump, of acting in a “reckless, dangerous and irresponsible” way when criticizing the country’s justice system “solely because he didn’t like the verdict”.
After becoming the first former president of the United States this Thursday to be convicted in a criminal trial – with the grand jury finding him guilty on all 34 counts of serious falsification of business records – Trump called a press conference at the building named after him in Manhattan to try to cast doubt on New York’s criminal justice system.
The pre-candidate for the Republican Party nomination to run in the November presidential elections strongly criticized the judge, the witnesses and the verdict, according to which he is guilty of trying to exert illegal influence in the 2016 elections – in which he was elected president – by falsifying documents in an attempt to hide an amount paid to a porn actress, with whom he allegedly had sexual relations, in exchange for her silence.
At the press conference, Trump tried to portray himself as a victim of political persecution, in order to please his voters, saying that the trial was “very unfair” and that, if they did this to him, “they can do this to anyone”.
He stated that the verdict is illegitimate and politically motivated and tried to downplay the facts presented against him. “It wasn’t money for silence. It was a confidentiality agreement, totally legal, totally common,” said the Republican.
Despite a court order prohibiting him from publicly criticizing trial witnesses, Trump launched strong attacks on his former lawyer Michael Cohen, whose testimony was key to the prosecution. He also repeated the same attacks he has been making at his campaign events, saying that the country, under Biden’s presidency, has become “corrupt” and “fascist”.
He accused Biden of being the “dumbest president we’ve ever had” and also hurled insults at the New York court judge. “I am willing to do everything to save our country and our Constitution. I don’t care,” he stated, promising to “continue the fight.”
“No one is above the law”
Biden said this Friday that Trump’s case proves the “American principle that no one is above the law” and noted that the Republican had “every opportunity to defend himself” at the trial in New York.
“It was a state case, not a federal case, and it was heard by 12 citizens, 12 Americans, 12 people like you,” the president told reporters. He recalled that Trump can appeal the case, “in the same way that everyone has this opportunity”.
The Democrat stated that it is “reckless, dangerous and irresponsible for anyone to claim that [o processo criminal] he was defrauded only because he didn’t like the verdict.”
“Our Justice system has lasted for almost 250 years, being, literally, the cornerstone of America”, he pointed out. “The justice system must be respected. We must never let anyone destroy it.”
Slight loss of support after trial
A survey carried out by Reuters/Ipsos this Thursday and Friday concluded that 10% of Republicans are less likely to vote for Trump after the verdict in the New York court, with 53% saying that the jurors’ decision will have no effect on your votes. Another 35% said they were even more convinced of their support for the former president.
The potential loss of 10% of his own party’s voters is more significant for Trump than the support of more than a third of Republicans, since many of them would vote for him regardless of conviction.
Among independent voters, 25% said the verdict made them less likely to vote for Trump, while 18% said they were more likely. For 56%, the Court’s decision will have no effect on their votes.
The numbers show that the verdict has the potential to shake up the electoral race, since elections are usually decided by a small margin of votes in some of the so-called swing states – states that are neither traditionally Republican nor Democratic and that end up deciding elections . This means that even a relatively small loss of voters could have a relevant impact on the final result.
Biden and Trump virtually tied
The two pre-candidates are in a tight electoral race. The Democrat has 41% of voting intentions against Trump’s 39%, according to the survey, which interviewed 2,556 American adults across the country, with a margin of error of 2%. At the beginning of the month, the same survey placed the two candidates tied at 40%. ‘
In both surveys, approximately one in five voters said they were undecided or inclined to vote for independent candidates or not to go to the polls.
Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11. According to the survey, 53% of registered voters do not want him to go to prison, with 46% supporting the former president’s incarceration.
rc (AP, Reuters, DPA)
#Biden #rejects #Trumps #criticism #justice