“The real verdict will take place on November 5, by the American people,” Mr. Trump assured the cameras on Thursday after being found guilty of all the charges against him in this criminal trial, the first of a former American president.
The billionaire, who wants to return to the White House at the end of this election, wasted no time in relaunching his campaign.
“I am a political prisoner,” launched the Republican candidate in a call for donations published Thursday evening, criticizing a trial instigated according to him by his Democratic opponent, outgoing President Joe Biden.
The former American president is due to hold a press conference on Friday morning from his Trump Tower in New York, scheduled for 11:00 a.m. (3:00 p.m. GMT).
In contrast, his rival Joe Biden has been discreet. “We saw today in New York that no one is above the law,” his campaign team commented Thursday, while the president, who was with his family on the occasion of the anniversary of the death of his eldest son, did not personally react.
But the Democrat, who must juggle on Friday between an interview with the Belgian Prime Minister and celebration of the Super Bowl (American football) champions, could then release a few words to the press about this resounding verdict.
Joe Biden, who has been careful not to comment too much on his predecessor’s legal troubles, has however recently launched a few barbs on this subject, criticizing his legal expenses or saying he is “very busy at the moment”, in reference to the billionaire’s criminal hearings. At New York.
If Donald Trump’s guilty verdict is historic, it does not prevent him from competing in the presidential election, and its impact on the vote remains difficult to predict.
So far, the polls show Joe Biden neck and neck with Donald Trump, even the Democrat trailing behind in certain strategic states.
And this verdict “is probably not going to move many votes”, predicts a political scientist from Texas Christian University, Keith Gaddie. But in “particularly close races, it could swing things from one side to the other.”
The fact remains that Donald Trump has proven, in recent years, his resistance to the ordeals that would have destroyed the political careers of many: indicted twice before Congress and indicted in four criminal cases, including that of New York, he However, he was widely and quickly established during the primaries as the Republican candidate for the November election.
And the Stormy Daniels case, which was considered the least threatening for him, will most likely be the only one judged before the vote.
Deprived of a campaign on the ground to attend the hearings, Donald Trump still tried to take advantage of the media by speaking several times a day outside the courtroom, flanked by his children or elected officials. Republicans came to support him.
But this judicial sequence could also benefit Joe Biden, who intends to strengthen his image as a serious leader, busy with the highest affairs of the State while his rival continues the legal meetings.
Donald Trump’s sentencing will take place on July 11 and will therefore coincide with a NATO summit in Washington, an opportunity for Joe Biden to mark his presence on the international scene. And this, a few days before the start of the Republican convention which will be held in Milwaukee (north), from July 15 to 18.
