Donald Trump's erratic rants are perhaps the most revealing of his mind, which is why even as a Manhattan jury began deliberations in his hush-money trial, it was pretty clear he knew he was going to lose.
“Not even Mother Teresa could defeat this accusation,” Trump told reporters in a hallway outside the courtroom on Wednesday. “These accusations are fraudulent. The whole thing is fraudulent.”
Even Trump's most ardent supporters will admit that no one thinks he's a saint. Trump campaign aides may have been surprised Thursday by the guilty verdict on all 34 felony charges, but their strategy has been set in stone for some time. In fact, it's not that different from what they've always done: They're going to attack the judge, the prosecutors and the entire court process. “And,” one of Trump's top advisers told me last week, “we're going to raise $10 million for it.”
Indeed, Trump's fundraising website crashed within minutes of the ruling, though it's unclear whether that was due to the influx of funds. A notice to donors said, “We are undergoing maintenance. Our engineers are working to give you a better experience. We'll be back up and running shortly.”
Follow this authorKaren Tumulty's opinion
Meanwhile, Trump's campaign, which has turned photos of his arrest in the Georgia RICO case into a fundraising opportunity, was also quick to seize the moment. The newly convicted Republican front-runner briefly posed on the sidewalk outside Trump Tower, waving to bystanders and pumping his fist defiantly. There are likely to be more such video opportunities to come, including at his sentencing, scheduled for July 11, four days before the Republican National Convention opens in Milwaukee.
Trump administration officials argue that while the historic ruling means the first former president with a felony conviction will appear on the ballot in the 2024 election, it will not significantly change the trajectory of an election that is already close and likely to remain that way.
And interestingly, President Biden's campaign agrees on that point.
“Today's verdict does not change the simple reality facing the American people,” campaign communications director Michael Tyler said in a prepared statement shortly after the verdict. “The only way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office is through the ballot box. With or without a conviction, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president.”
As the trial continues, Biden's campaign has grown frustrated at being unable to break through full courtroom coverage, which is why it pulled a surprise move on Tuesday to send actor Robert De Niro into the Manhattan courthouse alongside two police officers who helped secure the Capitol from a pro-Trump mob on Jan. 6, 2021. The plan was to have De Niro deliver a statement attacking Trump as a threat to democracy, but the plan was derailed when the actor went off script and called for the former president's guilt.
On Wednesday, Biden and Vice President Harris began outreach to black voters in Philadelphia, but major cable news networks ignored them, choosing instead to continue featuring commentators discussing the Trump jury's baffling deliberations.
Still, polls suggest that at least some voters believe their election choice this fall will depend on whether Trump is convicted — and even a small number could make a difference in an election that could be decided by fewer than 100,000 voters in three to seven battleground states.
But we also need to remember that the first debate between Trump and Biden is just four weeks away, when the American people will have the opportunity to see their chosen candidate stand before them and talk about how they will change people's lives for the better.
With the sordid courtroom aspects of the election campaign over, this normal ritual of the process of choosing a president may be a welcome sight for most Americans.
