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Americans across the country reacted to the stunning conviction Thursday of Donald Trump in his landmark criminal trial in New York, as he became the first former U.S. president and presumptive major party nominee to be found guilty of a crime.
The verdict has potentially massive political and societal implications with the presidential election just over five months away, or it could be greeted with a shrug by the American public. Those who talked to Fox News Digital on Thursday offered a range of reactions, from outrage to indifference to glee that Trump had been convicted, as well as divergent predictions on how it would affect the 2024 election.
Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. Daniels said she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 which the former president denies, and the jury found Trump falsified 34 business documents to conceal a hush money payment to Daniels before the 2016 election.
Aaron, speaking in Birmingham, Mich., told Fox News Digital the verdict was “absolutely insane” and made him more inclined to vote for Trump and donate to his campaign.
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Donald Trump arrives to Trump Tower, Thursday, May 30, 2024 after being found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. (Felipe Ramales for Fox News Digital)
“It’s election interference,” he said. “We have a frontrunner in all the polls. He’s actually beating Biden, and they’ve gone after Trump in multiple states.”
Chase, also from Birmingham, Mich., said the verdict was a “complete failure of our justice system.”
“I think it makes Trump stronger with his base,” he added.
Outside the courthouse in Manhattan, a Trump supporter who said he was a native New Yorker called the verdict “despicable.”
“[Trump] may be guilty there,” he said, pointing to the courthouse, “but not in the eyes of the real New Yorker. We support him. He’s going to be our president.”
Angel, a New Yorker who was at the courthouse, said he was “shocked” by the verdict but “not shocked” that he wouldn’t spend time in prison, although Trump hasn’t been sentenced yet and will likely appeal the conviction.
He told Fox News Digital the guilty verdict would “of course” help Trump by strengthening his base.
Angel, speaking outside the Manhattan courthouse, was shocked by the guilty verdict. (Fox News Digital)
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Michael, from Staten Island, N.Y., praised the verdict and wouldn’t comment on the political consequences of the conviction.
“I think it’s the right verdict,” he said. “I think it shows that our system of justice works, whether you’re rich or you’re poor … it’s a jury of his peers, and I think it’s a great result for New York and for America.”
“To me today is about justice, it’s not about politics,” he added. “People are trying to make this case about politics, but it’s not a political case. It’s about the law and how it should be applied.”
Tom, speaking from Whatcom County in northwest Washington state, took a moment to process the news before saying he wasn’t surprised.
“I think there are other indictments, counts, that are going to also return a similar verdict, but it’s a real shame that this country had that kind of person in the White House,” he told Fox News Digital.
“I think character still matters to people, and I would hope that this will maybe open a few eyes and help people to see that maybe there should be a different candidate on that side of the equation,” he added.
In Clovis, Calif., Cora told Fox News Digital that she wasn’t surprised by the outcome because it was “a political trial from the beginning all the way to the end.” She hasn’t changed her mind about supporting Trump in November.
“I knew his faults going in, and I know his pluses going in, and the pluses way outweigh the faults,” she said, adding, “I will tell anybody else that I talk to that he is the one to vote for.”
Eric, also in Clovis, said the conviction made him feel like he lived in a “banana republic.”
“Is that how we find justice? We go looking for a crime as opposed to something real going on? I think these are trumped-up charges,” he said, going on to call out key witness Michael Cohen’s credibility. “This should scare everybody.”
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Nate, a Nashville native who was in Washington, reacted to the “big news” of Trump’s conviction. (Fox News Digital)
Nate, a native of Nashville, Tenn., speaking in Washington, also said he wasn’t surprised by the verdict.
“I can’t say I’m surprised,” he told Fox News Digital. “I haven’t, to be honest, been following the trial that much. I will say, just kind of knowing the Trump presidency and how that’s played out over time, I do feel like it’s probably not going to influence a lot of people who already decided to vote for Trump and a lot of people who already decided to vote for Biden. I feel like he’s been in and out of legal stuff his whole presidency, and so I don’t know how this is going to be any different. But it seems to be pretty big news.”
Steve, in Chicago, Ill., said the conviction was the “best news” he’d heard in a long time, but he was skeptical of whether the verdict would affect the race.
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“It seems like people are ignoring all reality and sticking with this man, so I don’t know. I would hope that it’ll make people open their eyes a bit and realize what a kook he is,” he said. “He’s a sleazebag.”
“He obviously was guilty,” Jack, another Chicagoan, said.
Denise, a native of the Chicago suburbs, told Fox News Digital she was surprised by the conviction given Trump’s ability to wriggle out of jams in the past.
“I am so surprised because normally he seems to get out of things,” she said. “He gets around it. He somehow finagles, and it works out for him, but this is maybe a testament that if you do wrong, it will catch up to you.”
Denise, in Chicago, said she was surprised by Trump’s conviction given his ability to get out of trouble in the past. (Fox News Digital)
She’s not supporting Trump but predicted he would be re-elected, saying the trial wouldn’t have an effect on the outcome.
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“I won’t vote for him, but I think he will win,” she said. “I don’t think it will have any impact, because people, they’re going to vote for who they want to vote for, and if they think he’s the guy that they want to be in office, they’re going to vote for him, no matter what.”
Jay, a native of Peoria, Ill., said “if you commit a crime, you go to jail for it.” He predicted that the conviction would hurt Trump’s chances in November.
“It’s going to be interesting, because something like this has never happened before. I think he may not be elected because of it,” he said.
Jimmy, from the Detroit suburb of West Bloomfield, Mich., said the verdict was “unacceptable” and called on the former president to appeal.
“This is just an accounting issue, not a criminal [one],” he said. “This is all about the campaign, all about the election.”
Trump continued to deny wrongdoing after his conviction, called the case “rigged” and “disgraceful,” and said the true verdict would be rendered by the American people in November. Trump, who has clinched the 2024 Republican nomination, is now running for president as a convicted felon, and his other pending legal cases will continue to hang over the race as he tries to unseat President Biden.
Nikolas Lanum reported from New York City outside the Manhattan courthouse, Joseph Wulfsohn reported from Chicago, Illinois, Joshua Nelson reported from Detroit, Michigan, Hannah Lambert reported from Bellingham, Washington, and Christopher Lopez reported from Clovis, California.
David Rutz is a senior editor at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter at @davidrutz.
