After hours of deliberations, a jury of Donald Trump’s New York City peers convicted the former U.S. president of 34 charges in relation to a hush-money scheme ahead of the 2016 presidential election. He is the first former U.S. president in history to hold a felony conviction.
“This is a very sad day for America; the whole world is watching,” Trump said to the press following the verdict. “It’s all rigged … the whole system is rigged.”
Here are some reactions from critics, supporters and commentators in just the first 24 hours:
MAGA supporters decry ‘injustice’
Allies of the former president took to social media to decry the jury’s decision.
“Absolute injustice. This erodes our justice system,” wrote U.S. senator and former Republican primary rival Tim Scott in a post to X, formerly Twitter. “We the People stand with Donald J. Trump.”
A vocal supporter of the former president in the months since stepping down from the primary race, Scott’s name has circulated as a potential choice of running mate in this year’s presidential election, for which Trump is the presumptive GOP nominee.
“Guilty on all counts. The Democrats have succeeded in their years long attempt to turn America into a third-world (expletive),” reads an X post from Donald Trump Jr., Trump’s eldest child and a frequent representative for him at events on the 2024 campaign trail.
Celebrations vary among opponents
For those against Trump, reactions ranged from sobriety to snark.
“This moment is a somber one for America,” wrote U.S. House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, a California democrat. “Trial by a jury of peers is a fundamental principle of democracy, which must be respected.”
“We should start referring to him as 34 instead of 45,” reads a post from television actor and frequent Trump critic George Takei, alluding to the 45th U.S. president’s tally of convictions.
“No one should be above the law. Not even former presidents,” wrote Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. “Especially not former presidents.”
This is a developing story. More to come.
With files from The Associated Press
