Trump guilty verdict: Reaction

Moments after former President Donald Trump’s guilty verdict was read, politicians took to various platforms to share their thoughts about the historic decision.

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Trump said shortly after being found guilty on all 34 charges against him, “Our whole country is being rigged right now.”

He blamed President Joe Biden for being put on trial, “This was done by the Biden administration in order to wound or hurt an opponent, a political opponent.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson called the verdict, “a shameful day in American history,” CNN reported. He called the trial “a purely political exercise, not a legal one.” He called the verdict “absurd” and predicted that Trump would win his appeal.

He parroted Trump’s views: “The weaponization of our justice system has been a hallmark of the Biden Administration, and the decision today is further evidence that Democrats will stop at nothing to silence dissent and crush their political opponents.”

CNN reported President Joe Biden’s campaign communications director released a statement that read, “Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain. But today’s verdict does not change the fact that the American people face a simple reality. There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box. Convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president.

“The threat Trump poses to our democracy has never been greater,” Tyler wrote. “A second Trump term means chaos, ripping away Americans’ freedoms and fomenting political violence — and the American people will reject it this November,” communications director Michael Tyler wrote.

Ian Sams from the White House Counsel’s office said, “We respect the rule of law, and have no additional comment.”

Trump supporter, House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik said the verdict “shows how corrupt and rigged the American system has become under Joe Biden,” CNN reported.

Trump’s former fixer and one of the key witnesses in the trial, Michael Cohen, released a statement to The Associated Press via text, writing, “Today is an important day for accountability and the rule of law. While it has been a difficult journey for me and my family, the truth always matters.”

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who is the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, “Regardless of the result, I urge all Americans to respect the verdict and the legal process. At this dangerously divided moment in our history, all leaders—regardless of party—must not pour fuel on the fire with more toxic partisanship. We must reaffirm what has made this nation great: the rule of law.”

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