“The American principle that no one is above the law was reaffirmed,” Biden told reporters at the White House, in his first remarks on the matter.
“After careful deliberation, the jury reached a verdict … now he’ll be given the opportunity – as he should – to appeal that decision, just like everyone else has that opportunity. That’s how the American system of justice works.”
President Joe Biden speaks about the Trump verdict at the White House.Credit: AP
On X, Biden posted simply: “No one is above the law.”
The verdict marked a turning point in what was already a fiercely contested rematch between Biden, 81, and Trump, 77.
A sentencing hearing will take place on July 11, when Trump faces the possibility of a jail term, or a lesser sentence – such as a fine or a conditional discharge – that will consider his lack of criminal history and the non-violent nature of the offence.
With less than six months before election day, polls show the pair are either neck and neck, or with Trump at a slight advantage, although many Americans also say they are deeply unenthusiastic about both men.
Some may opt for a third-party candidate, such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a former Democrat-turned-independent who described the case against Trump as “profoundly undemocratic” and warned that it could backfire on his former party.
“America deserves a president who can win at the ballot box without compromising our government’s separation of powers or weaponising the courts. You can’t save democracy by destroying it first,” Kennedy wrote on X.
Back at Trump Tower, Trump repeated the claim he was the victim of a political witch hunt, spearheaded by Democrats to stop him from returning to power.
He lamented the crisis at the US Mexico border, hit out at Biden’s push for electric vehicles and claimed Democrats wanted to “raise your taxes”.
For the most part, though, he portrayed himself as a victim of political persecution, who was “wired in such a way” that he would continue to fight for the country when “a lot of people would have gone away a long time ago”.
A Trump supporter waves an inverted American flag to protest against the verdict outside Trump Tower.Credit: AP
“I’m willing to do whatever I have to do to save our country and to save our Constitution,” he said.
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This is a message that resonates with his base, many of whom helped fuel the funding boost in the immediate aftermath of the verdict, according to campaign senior advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles.
The Biden campaign responded with a fundraising push of its own, telling supporters in an email: “His supporters are clearly fired up by his conviction. We need ours to be, too. Our democracy is at risk like never before.”
Trump attacked District Attorney Alvin Bragg, claiming without evidence that he was working in co-ordination with the Biden administration, and Judge Juan Merchan, whom he said was “conflicted” – a reference to digital campaign work his daughter has done for some Democrats through her firm.
He also hit out Cohen, describing him as a “sleazebag and everybody knows that”, while saying of his 2006 tryst with Daniels: “Nothing ever happened.”
Cohen, who has made no secret of his desire to see his former boss jailed, responded by posting a cartoon image of Trump behind bars.
“Trump’s press conference was nothing shy of a batshit crazy avalanche of broken brain word manure,” he wrote.
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