Editorial written by the Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial Board
Donald Trump’s criminal conviction in a Manhattan courtroom on all 34 counts should not surprise anyone who followed the trial. While the first-ever conviction of a former president will forever be a blot on the institution, it also marks a moment of overdue accountability.
In business, politics, and life, Trump has long acted as if the rules do not apply to him. But as he pushed and pushed the boundaries beyond what is acceptable even for a rich, entitled playboy, the wheels of justice have slowly begun to catch up.
Last year, Trump was found liable of sexual assault. In 2022, the Trump Organization was convicted of cheating on its taxes. In 2020, Trump ripped off donors who thought they contributed $250 million to a legal defense that was never created. In 2019, Trump’s foundation was shuttered after it illegally misused funds.
Now, a jury of Trump’s peers quickly determined he is a felon.
It is a sad and historic reckoning as he becomes the first U.S. president convicted in the country’s nearly 250 years of existence. It’s an ignoble bookend to being the only president who was impeached twice.
Rest assured, there will be no apology or acceptance of guilt. Instead, Trump will shift into his tired, old schtick: Claiming the trial was a “witch hunt” and “political persecution” driven by a “crooked” judge and President Joe Biden’s “gestapo administration” — all while raising money from gullible supporters.
But the evidence was overwhelming. The judge was beyond fair, giving Trump more leeway than any normal defendant as the former president repeatedly violated gag orders in an attempt to intimidate witnesses and influence the jury.
Before the trial began, Trump claimed he would testify, but, of course, he didn’t — as was his Constitutional right. In fact, Trump barely mounted a defense, calling just two witnesses compared to the 20 called by prosecutors. But outside of court, Trump turned the trial into a circus, with a parade of GOP sycophants who flocked to stand by their felon.
Trump’s conviction should remind friends and foes alike that no one is above the law in America — unless, of course, the extreme conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court that Trump helped build invents a way to grant him some form of immunity.
To some, Trump’s criminal conviction for falsifying business records to cover up an alleged affair with an adult film star may seem like a minor offense. But the trial was not about a sexual affair. It was about breaking the law to influence the outcome of a presidential election.
Indeed, the hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels, coming on the heels of Trump’s Access Hollywood tape, may have changed the course of history. By avoiding another scandal days before the 2016 election, Trump eked out a victory, winning three states by just 80,000 votes combined.
Just think how much better off the country and world would have been if Trump lost in 2016. America’s power and influence around the globe would not have suffered a major blow. The U.S. would have remained in the Paris Climate Agreement instead of going backward in the effort to combat climate change. Public-health researchers have found that were it not for Trump’s politicization of the pandemic — especially his failure to endorse mask usage — thousands of COVID-19 deaths in 2020 could have been avoided.
The deficit would be $1 trillion to $2 trillion less if not for Trump’s tax cuts, which greatly benefited the rich. The country would not have been dragged through two impeachments and a deadly insurrection. A nearly 50-year precedent that granted women the constitutional right to decide what to do with their own bodies would still be standing.
Beyond how Trump’s actions and policies harmed the country, he undermined U.S. institutions and weakened democracy. Trump also left a meaner and more divided society. Antisemitism increased during his time in office. Hate crimes spiked and race relations worsened.
Yet, despite the chaos, incompetence, and criminality, Trump remains the likely GOP nominee for president in November. That is due to the fealty by Republican elected officials, the disinformation and misinformation spread by conservative news outlets and social media, and a large segment of the population that remains in thrall to a wannabe dictator who is running for reelection to stay out of prison.
Trump still faces three other criminal indictments. Those charges for stealing classified documents and trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election were brought in three jurisdictions by three different grand juries.
Yet, somehow Trump claims all of his wrongdoing is one giant conspiracy — as if state and federal prosecutors, judges, and jurors in different states got together to go after a privileged old man who has spent a lifetime telling lies and avoiding accountability.
It remains to be seen if Trump’s latest conviction will sway any of his supporters. Trump famously said he could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue and not lose any voters. That may have been Trump’s most truthful admission.
Strangely, those who are found guilty of felonies can still run for president. So, voters must decide if they want a convicted criminal in the White House.
