Trump’s conviction

DONALD Trump has become the first US President to be convicted of felony after a grand jury in New York found him guilty — on as many as 34 counts — of falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment to a porn star ahead of the 2016 presidential election. True to form, the 2024 presidential aspirant has described the trial as ‘rigged’ and ‘disgraceful’. Trump has alleged that the Joe Biden administration is trying to settle a political score. Likening himself to none other than Mother Teresa, he has hinted that even the great nun would not have been able to escape conviction in the presumably sham trial. With his trademark dramatic flourish, he has vowed to fight till the end because ‘our country has gone to hell’.

The conviction will not prevent Trump from contesting the November election. The sentencing is scheduled for July 11, four days before the Republican National Convention where he is scheduled to be formally nominated as the party’s presidential candidate against Biden. Trump, who has a knack for playing the victim card, is expected to ensure that his campaign revolves around his court cases. Ever since the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, which Biden won, Trump has been raising a hue and cry over one ‘conspiracy’ after another to keep him out of the White House. He is facing three other criminal trials, including two related to his alleged attempts to overturn his poll defeat. Trump is accused of having incited his supporters, who went on to storm the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. The deplorable incident not only shamed American democracy but also drew international opprobrium.

Nevertheless, Trump remains as defiant and unapologetic as ever. Even as his legal troubles are set to mount, he will keep pleading his innocence. It’s up to the American voters to figure out whether he is more sinned against than sinning.